Rivals Are Forever
by SummerRain139
Summary: All she had wanted was to travel through Johto to compete in contests. However, May quickly discovers that nothing in life is ever that simple when it involves scheming adversaries and a green haired coordinator who she very well might be falling for. CS
1. A New Beginning: May POV

Hey everybody, this is my first fanfic ever so here goes! :D

~I do not own pokemon.

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

My footsteps caused the floorboards of the worn deck to creak as I wandered over to the railing of the ship. As my hands gripped the cold metal bars I threw my head back upwards to gaze at the onyx sky. Millions of white stars littered the atmosphere and the darkness of the night felt like a comforting blanket.

As I realized that now might be a good time to train my newest pokemon I quickly reached inside my pocket and pulled out the pokeball I was looking for. It was good that there were only a few people on deck. Raising a newly captured pokemon was often unpredictable. Contrary to popular belief wild pokemon weren't exactly happy to discover that they had been captured and the first couple of weeks were often tough to get through, for both the pokemon and the trainer.

As I threw the red and white sphere into the air the pokeball snapped open and out flew the steel bird that I had worked so hard to capture the week before in Petalburg City. As I fought homesickness I pushed aside the thoughts of my parents and brother back home and ordered an attack.

"Skarmory, use gust!"

I braced myself for the sudden shift in air movement but nothing happened. A silver feather floated through the air and landed on the deck with a soft metallic click. I picked it up and ran my hand along the iron feather, marveling at its lightness and durability.

Suddenly a shriek pierced the air and as I turned to look I saw that my skarmory had perched on the railing with a defiant look in her eyes. As I walked closer to her she became more hostile and she raised her wings in a threatening manner. The blood red color under her wings was immaculate with her constant preening and her eyes were the color of ebony.

"Skarmory, what's the matter with you? I thought we had gotten past this."

But I was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps. Someone had been spying on me.

I quickly turned around to see who the culprit was but was met with a deserted ship's deck. I could feel the wind start to pick up as it lifted some loose strands of brown hair from my ponytail. Getting the creepy feeling that I was still being watched I, without delay, returned skarmory back to her pokeball and walked briskly back to my room.

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><p>It was 7:49 am when I woke up for the day. I dressed myself in a yellow short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans and set out for the dining room for breakfast.<p>

In the middle of stuffing my face full with waffles I glanced up to see a familiar face looking at me with amusement.

"Solidad!" My half shouting causing stares from the people around me. Solidad smiled as she stood up and walked over to my table. She pulled up a chair across from me and sat down, her long red hair spilling over her shoulders like a crimson waterfall.

"Hey May, long time no see!"

"Yeah", I mumbled with my mouth full of food, "I haven't seen you since the Grand Festival." I had gotten over losing to her in the final round of the Grand Festival but sometimes it still hurt to think about how close I had gotten to my dream before having it cut short. I wanted to change the subject.

"So, are you going to enter in the Johto contests?"

My question was reasonable but I started to have doubts as soon as I saw a tense look cross Solidad's face. For a second I could see a flicker of sadness in her eyes and she looked so fragile that a single touch would probably break her into a million pieces. When she finally spoke it was with a small voice.

"Everything's changed now."

At first I was confused until my gaze fell on her hands that lay protectively over her stomach.

"I just found out about a week ago," she stifled a sob, "when my period was late." I could see the tears starting to stream down her face and I reached for some napkins and handed them to her.

"Thank you," she sniffled as she wiped her nose with the napkin.

"His name's Falkner," she said the name with a hard laugh, "When I told him that I was pregnant he told me that it wasn't his problem and then he took off for his gym." Her voice cracked with a mixture of resentment and weariness.

It was weird seeing Solidad like this. At the festival she had seemed so confident like she had the world by the tail. Now she just seemed like a bird with broken wings who, no matter how hard she tried, could not find her way back in the sky where she belonged.

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><p>After comforting Solidad I headed back to my room where I began to pack my belongings into the large light blue and white backpack that I had decided to take along with me. I quickly stuffed everything inside, making sure to put my pokeballs on my belt before I headed out into the hallway. I wanted to be on deck when we arrived in Cherrygrove City.<p>

As I walked down the hallway I could hear a whole bunch of voices coming from behind one of the doors that lined the hall. They all seemed to be female voices and as I continued to walk down the hallway their voices got louder. I figured it was none of my business until I heard my name.

"May Maple has been a problem ever since Slateport City; we have to do something about her." I was confused. What had I ever done to these people? What happened in Slateport City?

I tried to remember that far back to see if there were any significant memories that stood out that could tell me what the speaker was trying to get at. The only thing I could remember was that my first contest had been in Slateport and that was also the time when I met Drew for the first time. I blushed involuntarily but my attention quickly went back to the room behind the door. I usually tried not to eavesdrop but how could I not when they were obviously talking about me. Curse my insecurities.

Creeping silently, so that I couldn't be heard by the people inside, I laid my ear against the door, not caring whether or not eavesdropping was considered rude. I breathed more slowly and concentrated my hearing on the voices beyond the door.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I jumped about a mile high into the air. I hadn't expected anyone to be behind me. As I turned around with a guilty expression on my face I saw a little old lady watching me with her purse clutched to her chest.

She gave me a stern look and said in a very serious voice, "If you're trying to eavesdrop you can forget about it. At least if you're trying to go about it _that_ way."

Her face gave way to a grin as she wagged her finger at me, having decided already to humor me instead of treating me like a suspicious youth.

"Look here," she said as she pushed back her long locks of grey and white hair to reveal a pair of hearing aids.

"I never leave home without them; not because I have a hearing problem," she assured me, "but so that I can snoop without anyone suspecting." She threw her head back and gave a sharp bark of a laugh that, quite honestly, scared me.

"Oh well, I guess that's one of the benefits of getting old. You can do what you want."

An outburst from the room we were standing in front of made us both jump as we could hear voices yelling inside. Then just as soon as the yelling had started all had gone quiet and one lone voice could be heard.

"You have caused too much trouble for us already and we are tired of dealing with your crap." The old woman and I exchanged glances as we continued to listen to the speaker.

"We have given you many chances to redeem yourself but kidnapping that girl was taking one step too far." I could almost feel the air inside the room grow tense as another, high pitched, voice broke the silence.

"We have all voted unanimously that you are out of the club. We hope that in the future maybe you'll change your ways so that you might be a part of us again, but until then…."

She didn't get to finish her sentence for I heard the sound of angry, stomping footsteps making their way towards the door, the door that we were both standing in front of. I practically dived for the other side of the hallway as I dropped down to one knee and pretended to tie my shoes.

From the corner of my eye I saw an enraged girl burst into the hallway, her scarlet hair flowed out behind her as she slammed the door and took off for the stairs at the end of the hall.

It took a few seconds before recognition clicked into place. Briana.

The woman and I were silent as we slowly walked over to the stairs that led up onto the deck of the ship. Finally the woman spoke.

"I think I heard something about that awhile back, though I'm not sure if what they were talking about was connected to the story that I heard."

"What did you hear?"

"All I know is that a couple of months ago, in Kanto, a girl was kidnapped during the Viridian City contest. Nobody knows who did it but the girl showed up after the contest was over. She didn't know who it was who grabbed her."

I could feel the chills go down my spine but I shook them off as we finally reached the deck. The harsh sunlight made it hard to see and as I squinted I could make out a figure coming towards us, Solidad.

She looked considerably better as she attempted a smile at us.

"So, I see you've already met my grandma." She pulled the lady next to me into a hug. Then she introduced us.

"Grandma, this is May."

"May, this is my grandma."

"You can call me Alma." She reached out her hand and I shook it, marveling at her strong grip. We sat down and talked while we ate lunch together, eventually walking over to stand near the railing. I could see a mass of land off to the distance and I wondered what traveling alone was going to be like.

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><p>So, how was that? I took a risk with Solidad but there's a method to my madness. For those of you waiting for Drew, don't worry he'll be in the next chapter. It can't be a contestshipping fic without him xD. I'm pretty excited to write the next chapter but I have a little writer's block.<p>

~Please Review :D


	2. Sweet Dreams Drew!: Drew POV

_Okay, for all of those people who reviewed my story I just want to say thank you. It really makes me feel good knowing that people are actually reading my stuff. This chapter will be written in Drew's point of view, just saying so there's no confusion. I'll probably switch between different points of views every once in a while just to shake things up and oh and before I forget here are the ages of the characters. _

_May- 16, Drew- 16, Solidad-20, Harley- 18  
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><p><strong>Chapter 2: <strong>**Sweet Dreams Drew!**

**Drew POV  
><strong>

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><p>Cherrygrove City was a busy place despite its size and everywhere I looked there were signs of life. The air was crisp and I could smell wood fires burning in people's homes. Children were playing in the piles of leaves that their parents raked up, their laughs and squeals of delight competed with the shouts of street vendors who were trying to sell as much as they could before the end of the day.<p>

Johto was colder than I expected and I shivered as the cold seeped through my thin jacket. As I walked along the streets that were bathed in light from the setting sun I picked up my pace trying to find the pokemon center before all the rooms were filled for the night. As I followed the street down to the corner I noticed the sign for the pokemon center that pointed to my right. I followed its directions and eventually came to the pokemon center with its familiar red roof and walked through its doors. I checked in with the pink haired nurse at the counter and reserved a room for the night.

As Nurse Joy checked my trainer ID she asked sweetly, "How long are you planning on staying in Cherrygrove?"

"Oh, not long," I answered, "I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Violet City so that I can make it in time to register for the contest there."

"Oh how exciting! You know before I became a nurse I was quite the competitor as a young coordinator. In fact when I first…"

My attention span waned as I listened to her ramble on about her past and my eyes gazed out the window until something caught my attention, a girl about my age that looked a lot like May. As she walked along the sidewalk I could tell right away that it wasn't May. She was a lot taller than May and her face was round while May's was heart shaped. I was surprised to find that I was disappointed to find that the girl hadn't been her.

"EXCUSE ME! Are you even listening?"

I turned my attention back to Nurse Joy, who at the moment was outraged that I wasn't even paying attention.

I sighed. I didn't mean to come off rude but at the same time I hadn't bargained to hear the lady's life story.

"I'm sorry, I've had a long trip and not much sleep," I flipped a green bang out of my eyes and tried to give the lady a convincing tired look. The truth was that I had a very relaxing boat ride over to Johto, but she didn't need to know that.

She seemed to buy my excuse but at the same time she still looked pretty agitated. She gave me back my ID along with the key to my room.

"Thanks," I said, trying to be nice but she pretended to not hear me as she had already turned her back to me to look at her computer screen.

Whatever, I thought to myself as I headed up the stairs to find my room. There weren't very many rooms in the pokemon center so it wasn't long before I found it. I let roselia out before I got ready for bed because she always preferred to sleep outside of her pokeball. After I took my shower and put on an old shirt and a pair of sweatpants I found her curled up on the edge of the bed. I smiled to myself before climbing into bed and shutting off the lamp on the nightstand. As I closed my eyes I tried to relax as I sank further and further into unconsciousness.

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><p>The first thing that I saw in my dream was May. She was smiling at me and as I looked down I noticed that we were holding hands. I recognized the place as the cliff side that we had last met at as we watched the setting sun after our battle, except this time there was no Harley to interrupt us. She turned slowly towards me and her face came nearer to mine. I leaned towards her closing the distance between us and our lips met. I felt like my heart would leap out of my chest. Then...<p>

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><p>BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! I groaned as I woke up to the sound of my pokedex's alarm. I blindly swatted at the irritating noise until I found the button to make it shut up and then I rolled out of bed. I quickly changed into the clothes that I was going to wear for the day which were a dark blue hoodie with white strings with a black short sleeved shirt to go underneath. I also pulled on my khaki pants and hiking boots while thinking about the dream I had just had. Was it possible that I liked May? All this time we had been rivals. But had I let that turn into something more in my head?As I looked at myself in the mirror I saw a blush starting to work itself across my face. Roselia took notice and started to laugh at the rare sight which of course made me blush even more. You know it's bad when your own pokemon suddenly finds you the most humorous thing on the planet.<p>

"All right, that's enough," I said as I chuckled at the little rose pokemon, "we got a long trip ahead of us so let's get some breakfast, okay?" Roselia nodded her head as I grabbed my dark green and black backpack and put my pokeballs on my belt, getting ready for the journey ahead trying not to think too much about a certain brunette coordinator.

After breakfast roselia and I headed towards the edge of Cherrygrove City to where the sidewalk dropped off and where the concrete road led to a small dirt path. A dusty looking sign that stood almost hidden among all of the trees read Route 30 and as I walked under the cover of the trees into the shadows of the forest I felt the temperature drop at least 10 degrees. I was just about to walk further into the forest when I heard a twig snap behind me. I turned around and came face to face with the purple haired coordinator known as Harley.

"Why, hello Drew darling. It's so nice to see you again. But where's your doll faced girlfriend? Usually wherever you are that wimp is sure to be not too far behind."

"What are you talking about?" I grimaced as I often did when talking to Harley.

"Why I'm talking about May of course. Come on, surely you guys are an item already?"

I tried to give him a blank stare but I could feel the start of a blush spreading across my cheeks and Harley took notice of it.

"Aha! I knew something was going on between you two! So tell me, does she even know yet or do you plan to just suffer in silence?"

"Just shut up okay! It's not even like that!" I was starting to get angry. Why was he always trying to get in my business anyways?

"OKAY! My bad! I didn't realize you were so sensitive about the subject. Jeez Drew try to be a little more calm than your usual angry self."

As I looked up my eyes showed how annoyed I really was.

"That's funny; I was just fine until you showed up."

"Aww. Poor little Drewy boy got all upset at my little harmless teasing. Well, no need to get all bent out of shape. The truth is bound to get out eventually, one way or the other. "

Giving a mischievous grin he said, "Ta Ta for now honey! Hopefully the next time that I see you it won't be with you in such a state of denial." With that being said he took off in a mad sprint like some mental patient escaping from the nuthouse as a cloud of dust rose in his absence. I sighed while I watched the kicked up dust settle to the ground.

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><p><em>Ya gotta love Harley. He's just so crazy and neurotic to the point that he always manages to make me laugh. Now I promise that the next chapter will have contestshipping moments and will be a lot longer but for now you all have to tell me what you think though so please review! ;) <em>


	3. Bad Luck: May POV

_I'm actually kind of proud of myself for writing a longer chapter this time. Once again we're back in May's point of view. I hope you enjoy the story. :P_

_PS: Thanks to Nostalgia's Best Friend for pointing out that I originally wrote this all in italics. Yikes! When I originally uploaded it I just wanted to get it published and I completely overlooked the italics. I wanted to have just May's memory of Solidad and Alma in italics but I guess I forgot to change it back. Oh well. Now it's fixed. xD  
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><p><em>Chapter 3: <em>_One Bad Day_

_May POV  
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><p>As I walked out of the city towards the dirt path that winded its way through the forest I felt a wave of loneliness hit me. I thought back to the day before when I had helped Solidad move back in with her grandma, Alma. Just in the small amount of time I had spent with them both I had seen how close they were. I remembered a moment that passed between them.<p>

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><p><em>I was in Alma's kitchen in her Cherrygrove City home with all of us preparing sandwiches for lunch.<em>

_"Solidad, I don't like the idea of you trying to raise that baby by yourself. Lord knows you were a handful when I was raising you and that Falkner is just one cold hearted bastard from what you told me."_

_"Grandma I really appreciate that but I don't want to be a burden to you and besides now that you're older you should be thinking about yourself."_

_"Girl, I'm going to look past the fact that you called me old and remind you of something. When I first took you in after your parents died in that horrible car accident what did I say to you?" _

_"That you would always be there for me…" Solidad's voice was emotional as she looked at the older woman._

_"That's right. We're family and let's face it we're all we got in this world."_

_"Thank you Grandma. You don't know how much this means to me." She pulled her grandma into a hug leaving her quite flustered as she said gruffly, "All right enough with the mushy feelings talk. Let's finish up these sandwiches, I'm starving."  
><em>

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><p>I shivered slightly as I stepped into the shade beneath the leafy trees. I missed my family. I missed Ash and Brock who I had been traveling with for years until we parted our separate ways.<p>

The quiet of the forest seemed eerie to me as I walked slowly down the beaten path. I could hear wild pokemon scurrying under the cover of the bushes, or at least I hoped it was wild pokemon and not a serial killer that preyed on lost teenage girls. I glanced nervously around the forest trying to remember any landmarks that could help me find my way back to the path I was originally on but I couldn't find anything. It was quickly becoming the beginning of one of those horror movies that I would occasionally watch with Max during summer break. I shuddered before I grabbed a pokeball off of my belt.

"Blaziken come on out!" As I threw the pokeball into the air the tall fire bird pokemon was released and he landed on the ground almost soundlessly. There was probably nothing to worry about but I felt a little bit safer with blaziken right next to me. Ha, I thought to myself, let's see someone try something now! Traveling with my pokemon gave me a bit more confidence. I was never afraid when I was traveling with Ash, Brock, and Max because we were all traveling in a group. But now I felt more alone than ever and I knew that this trip would be harder than all the others. Brock wouldn't be there to cook and offer advice and Ash wouldn't be there to…" What did Ash do, besides eat? Well, at least he was good company. But most of all I missed my brother. I thought about him as I continued to walk.

"What am I going to do blaziken? I can't cook or make a camp fire or even find my way through this freaking forest without getting lost. How am I going to survive on my own?" My anxiety was starting to get worse as the reality of the situation began to sink in that I didn't know how to do anything. I glanced at blaziken for some kind of support but he wasn't even looking at me. It was at that moment when I noticed the unnatural stillness of the once lively woods. The complete silence was unnerving.

"Blaziken?" I could see blaziken turn his head as if he was trying to hear something far off in the distance until it got close enough that I heard it too. It was the distinctive noise of something big trampling through the green growth of the forest. It was faint but was getting progressively louder like it was heading this way. I tried to clear my brain to think but the panic was screwing with my train of thought.

"Do I run or do I stay here and find out what it is?"

"Do I run for my life or do I stay here to face uncertain doom?" My heart was pounding like crazy. This was what happened when teenage girls decided to travel by themselves.

"Maybe I could just stay here and it will go away." I really doubted that though.

It was official. I was really starting to lose it. Whatever was causing the disturbance sounded as if it was now not too far from us. As I turned around shakily to see what had been causing all of the noise I saw the bushes rustling and I held my breath. I should have run I thought to myself but it was far too late for that. There was a moment of suspense and that's when I saw the bear pokemon ursaring shuffle its way through the brush on all fours. I gave a sigh of relief. All this time I had been imagining some horrible monster that preyed on lost travelers to attack me. Now seeing the wild pokemon forage for food I was just relieved. Throwing my head back I laughed loudly thinking that I had been freaking out this whole time over some bear pokemon that was probably just looking for some berries to eat.

As I laughed it gained the ursaring's attention as it looked at me through narrowed eyes and slowly started lumbering towards us in our direction. My laughter died in my throat as I saw that its pupils were huge like it was deranged. The bear pokemon gave a mighty roar and got up on its two back legs towering over me. Then the ursaring went down on all fours with a thud and started to charge towards me. I saw it coming, getting closer and closer but I was frozen to the spot with terror as my heart pounded in my ears. I knew that I was in danger but I just couldn't move. Blaziken finally decided that he wasn't going to wait for his trainer to act as he quickly picked me up and started to run. Blaziken ran at top speed trying to navigate through the woods, having to swerve to avoid hitting countless trees, as he put as much distance between us and the enraged pokemon. I could tell that blaziken wasn't going to last for much longer though because I could hear him breathing heavily as the exertion from running got to him. The ursaring went crazy. As I turned my head back to look I saw the wild pokemon crashing though bushes and small trees trying to get to us and he didn't seem like he was going to slow down anytime soon. It was then when blaziken tripped on a giant tree root that curved out of the ground and suddenly we were falling. The next course of events seemed to happen in slow motion. I fell hard onto the earth and the wind was knocked out of me. Tears were threatening to run down my face as I silently prayed to Arceus that we would make it out of this alive.

I saw the ursaring bound towards us to attack until I heard someone's voice followed by a blinding flash of golden light. My vision was blurry but that didn't stop me from hearing the cries of the giant bear pokemon as it crashed to the ground having been knocked unconscious.

My vision slowly started to clear up but my brain was still trying to catch up with everything that had just happened. I heard footsteps running towards me and as I opened my eyes I found myself staring back into emerald eyes framed by hair of the same green color.

"Drew?" My voice was groggy still from having the wind knocked out of me. I struggled to get up but was pushed back down by a pair of strong hands.

"Why don't you just lie down for a while? You've had quite a fall." His voice sounded worried which was weird for Drew. In all the time that I had know him he had always been irritatingly calm or arrogant, this wasn't like him. I groaned as I laid back down but then a thought crossed my mind and I sprung back up surprising Drew. His eyes were wide as he looked at me anxiously.

"Where's blaziken?" My words came out kind of slurred. Falling onto the ground like that while traveling at high speeds had not done me any good.

"Don't worry; I gave him a hyper potion and roselia is watching over him right now." By now Drew seemed reassured that I was alright and he went back to his normal self.

"Only you would manage to piss off an ursaring enough to get yourself chased through the forest on your very first adventure alone." He smirked at that. I however started to cry. I could have died back there and the whole thing had been very traumatic.

Drew immediately stopped smirking and had a horrified look on his face as he saw the tears spill over and start to slide down my face.

"May, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I was just teasing you." Drew sighed. He looked like he honestly didn't know how to deal with an emotional girl. He patted my back a couple of times awkwardly before getting up to set up camp. It was close to noon and it was obvious that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Drew looked like he had no intention of leaving me alone either, especially not after the ursaring incident.

I closed my eyes intending to just rest for a little bit but when I finally woke back up again it was dusk. I glanced around trying to get a sense of my surroundings. I was inside a tent but I didn't remember how I had gotten there. I remembered falling asleep after the near attack. I had been so exhausted, both physically and emotionally.

I poked my head out of the tent and saw a figure hunched over a campfire only a few paces away. Drew turned towards me and smirked.

"Look who's finally awake. You know it wasn't easy trying to carry you over to that tent over there. Is this a habit of yours, falling asleep in weird places?"

"Well it's not everyday that a wild ursaring tries to maul you. Did you see that thing? It was like 7 feet tall!" Drew looked at me skeptically probably thinking that the fall had messed with my head.

"By the way, what happened back there after I fell and where's the ursaring?" I was glancing around nervously in the twilight looking suspiciously at the shifting shadows cast on the forest floor.

"So many questions," he paused to look at me and then continued.

"I heard an awful lot of noise coming from this part of the forest and when I ran to see what was going on I saw you trying to run away with your blaziken." He flipped a lock of green hair out of his eyes.

"Trying to run away only enrages a wild pokemon even more, even novice trainers know that. I shouldn't have expected anything less from you though." He chuckled at this. I could feel my hands at my sides start to curl up into fists. I was about to come up with something smart to say back but he cut me off as he continued.

"When you fell I decided to take things into my own hands and I ordered roselia to do a solarbeam attack. After that it was weakened enough so that I could catch it." He tapped a pokeball on his belt.

"Making that overgrown bear faint was no big deal. It was nothing that an experienced pokemon trainer couldn't handle." I hadn't missed the enunciation on the word 'experienced' and my eyes narrowed.

"Oh yeah Drew, I bet if you had been in my place you would have reacted the same way. You don't really have that much time to think when you're under attack by some pokemon intent on killing you."

"Oh I doubt that I would have reacted the same way. Unlike you, I know how to keep my cool." He turned towards the pot cooking over the fire completely missing the evil death glare I was giving him.

"Dinner's ready."

I grudgingly walked towards the fire realizing, as my stomach growled at me, that I was starving. I saw blaziken still sleeping nearby close enough so that the heat of the fire could warm him. Night was quickly approaching and I could the blue sky start to darken as the last slivers of sunlight hid behind some trees in the distance. The aroma of hot food reached my nose and as I stared into the pot I could see a creamy soup gently bubbling inside with potatoes occasionally rising to the top as Drew stirred.

"Can you get the bowls out of my backpack? They're in the right- hand side pocket." I fished the bowls out of the teenage boy's backpack and handed them to him one by one as he ladled the soup into the bowls. As we sat on the ground around the fire I blew on the soup to cool it off before trying a spoonful. I must have had some look on my face as I tasted it because Drew laughed.

"Don't look so surprised. When you travel alone you learn how to cook." He went back to eating his soup.

This soup is freaking good I thought to myself, not that I was going to tell him that after all the rude things he had said to me a couple of minutes ago. I started to shovel the soup into my mouth and was given a weird look from Drew.

"Man, don't you ever eat?" After a couple of seconds he got over his shock and just stared at me with an amused expression on his face until he looked down at his bowl.

There was a moment of silence until I said quietly, "How do you do it? Travel by yourself like this?" I almost didn't expect a response so I was surprised when he answered back.

"Sometimes it's hard and even though roselia and the rest of my pokemon keep me company I still sometimes wish I could have someone to talk to." He looked at me when he said this and I ducked my head down pretending to look at my soup when really I was trying to hide the fact that a blush was starting to spread across my cheeks.

"Of course then I couldn't travel as fast as I usually do in order to get all the ribbons I win," he added arrogantly. I rolled my eyes.

He got up to get another serving of soup out of the pot and I rose up to ladle some more into my bowl too. After scraping the bottom of the pot and splitting what was left between the two of us we sat back down again wolfing down the remains of the soup. After eating our fill of food we cleaned out the dishes by having squirtle lightly use squirt gun to rinse them out. Having dried the dishes and put them away I was fully aware of the darkness of the night as the fire offered the only light for us to see by.

"You know, I wasn't sure whether or not you would come to Johto or if you were going to follow Ash to travel in Sinnoh." Drew's face was calm and devoid of emotion as he looked into the flames.

"I thought you would have been happy to have one less person to compete against in the Johto contests."

"Hmph. Sure, but where else am I going to find another rival like you to compete against." He stopped to look at me and then looked into the fire and smirked.

"You're also a lot of fun to tease too."

Was it just me or was Drew acting really weird? At first he would be all sensitive and would actually act like a decent human being. But then he would just go back to his normal rude self. Why was he acting so strangely? If he kept this up I was going to get whiplash from his changes in attitude.

"Well," he said standing up and stretching, "I'm going to go to bed." He grabbed his flashlight out of his backpack while I ordered my squirtle to put out the fire. Returning squirtle and blaziken back to their pokeballs and grabbing my backpack I cursed myself for falling asleep and not setting up my tent ahead of time. I shined my flashlight into my backpack and a feeling of dread washed over me as I realized that there were no tent parts to be found. I must have forgotten to pack them. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I had packed my sleeping bag thankfully and I sighed as I started to unroll it unto the ground. I really hoped it wasn't going to rain or anything and started to swear under my breath when I heard the low rumbling of thunderstorm clouds off in the distance. Drew started to laugh when he saw what I was doing.

"You do realize it's going to rain tonight?" He asked this with one of his eyebrows raised as he watched me crawl into my sleeping bag stubbornly.

"Well you know it helps a pokemon trainer to be one with nature once in a while. Yah, it uh, builds character." I was just making this up because this excuse was better than facing the humiliation in front of him as I would try to explain that like an idiot I forgot to pack a tent. Apparently he wasn't buying it though as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest giving me a dubious look.

"You forgot to pack a tent didn't you?"

"Yep, pretty much," I admitted not making any eye conduct.

"Man, this is not a good day for you Maple. First you get yourself chased, by how you described it, a rabid ursaring over 7 feet tall. Then after that you managed to forget to pack a tent so that you would have to sleep on the ground with a rainstorm coming up. I got to admit that is one bad day." He let out a long whistle to further prove his point.

"Thank you so much for putting that all into perspective for me. Now if you don't mind I'm going to go to sleep and hope that you didn't set up camp in a dry riverbed that way I don't drown to death."

Drew rolled his eyes at me and sighed.

"I was going to let you sleep in my tent so that you wouldn't get rained on but if you're going to be snarky about it…"

"I'm sorry. Don't make me sleep out here in the rain." I said quickly while giving him a pleading look.

"I don't know May, now I'm having second thoughts. What if you're bad luck or something?" He was clearly enjoying himself.

"If I'm bad luck then you better be nice to me or else I might spread it to you," I said through gritted teeth.

"Calm down May. Despite what you think of me I'm not that cruel as to make my rival sleep out in the rain. I'm really quite the gentleman when I choose to be."

I scoffed but did not argue as I felt the raindrops that were starting to fall. I quickly snatched up my sleeping bag and backpack and went inside the tent. Drew followed behind me and zipped the tent shut so that the rain couldn't get in.

I saw roselia curled up in the corner and smiled to myself.

Drew noticed where I was looking and said, "Yah, roselia doesn't like to sleep inside her pokeball so she usually sleeps close by to me." I could see a dark green sleeping bag next to where roselia slept and I began to unroll my sleeping bag on the opposite side of the wall, far away from the green haired boy. Drew noticed this and smirked but didn't say anything as he crawled into his sleeping bag. I did the same and tried to go to sleep listening to the rain bounce off the roof of the tent fighting off feelings of homesickness. No matter how much I traveled I would always have spells of homesickness no matter what.

"Good night May." I heard his voice through the darkness.

"Good night," I answered back kind of surprised that Drew was actually capable of being nice. No, that wasn't fair. After all it had been him who had saved me from being attacked by a wild ursaring today.

I sighed from being so tired and closed my eyes so that I could get as much sleep as I could before having to face the new day tomorrow.

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><p>When I woke up the first thing that I noticed was that I was only a couple of inches away from Drew's face. My face turned several shades of red and I noticed that he was still asleep, completely oblivious to how close we were. I very slowly tried to get up without waking him but stopped for just a couple of seconds to look at him. He was actually kind of cute when he slept. His green hair fell over his face covering over his closed eyes and… wait a minute. This was Drew that I was thinking about, my rival for Arceus's sake and here I was mooning over him like I was one of his fan girls.<p>

What they wouldn't give to be in my place I thought but then shook my head. I was not going to get a crush on Drew Hayden. So what if he was cute? Okay cancel that. He was smoking hot. NO! I mentally screamed. I will not get a crush on Drew.

At that moment he stirred in his sleep and put one of his hands under his head while sighing, obviously having some kind of good dream.

Aww. He's so cute. Noo! Stop thinking about him like that! You do not like him! Or did I?

Grrrrr. Why was I even over here anyways? I had been on the other side of the tent. As I looked around I saw that I was now in the middle of the tent. I must have moved in my sleep but I wasn't the only one who had moved during the night. I quietly got up and crawled over to the "door" of the tent unzipping it slowly as to not wake Drew up. I was almost afraid of going back outside after what had happened the day before but I forced myself to move. I was a pokemon trainer and I couldn't let one bad experience make me scared to ever travel again.

I stepped outside breathing in the clean fresh morning air. Hopefully this day would be better.

_Hope you guys enjoyed all the drama. If being chased by a wild ursaring is what you want to call "drama". Personally I see that as a sign to go on a nice long vacation, preferably away from man eating bears. xD I still can't believe that I wrote 6 pages of writing! Woohoo! The next chapter will probably be up in another week or so. You'll have to forgive me if there are any spelling mistakes. In the meantime, please review. :) _


	4. Violet City Blues: May POV

_I've added the different points of views to the chapter titles now to make it more organized. This chapter is in May's POV which I know is out of order but there are moments in here that would better be explained in May's POV. I promise that the next chapter will be back in Drew's POV though. ;) In this story the characters will probably act OOC from time to time._

_~I do not own Pokemon._

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><p>Chapter 4: <span>Violet City Blues<span>

May POV

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><p>The brown leaves crunched underneath our feet as we followed the beaten path that Drew swore would take us to Violet City.<p>

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" I asked nervously.

"You know, you could stand to have just a little bit of faith in me May. I mean, this isn't the first time that I've traveled in a new region."

"It's just that I've already been lost once in the past couple of days and I don't want to go there again."

"Things are different now," Drew's voice was low, "you're with me. I won't get you lost." He looked up and caught my gaze with his startling green eyes. My breath hitched in my throat and he chuckled before starting to walk a little faster so that I had to jog in order to keep up.

"I can take care of myself without you looking after me Drew Hayden."

"Can you really? I mean the last time that you tried to travel by yourself you were chased by an Ursaring and you know how well that went. Besides I wouldn't want anything to happen to you before I beat you in the Violet City contest." He smirked and flicked a piece of green hair from his face.

Drew had a way of bewildering me. It was bad enough that I might be starting to get a crush on him like one of his stupid fan girls but did he really have to act so confusing all the time? I sped up and Drew matched my pace looking over at me curiously.

"What, no comment about the fact that I'm going to win this contest?"

I snorted before answering back, "Don't count on it. I'm a lot tougher than when you battled me the last time so you better bring your A- game _Mr. Rose_." He flinched at the old nickname.

We kept walking for another fifteen minutes and I noticed that the trees were starting to thin. We came to the top of a hill and I saw that we were approaching the end of the forest; the lights of the city could still be seen through the early morning fog.

"Man, how early did we set out Drew?" It was kind of hard to determine what time of day it was in the shadows of the woods.

"Well, we left at about eight o'clock and it is now," he checked his pokedex, "9:15 am. It looks like we traveled the majority of the distance yesterday."

We kept walking and as we approached the city I was struck by how rustic it was. The roads were made from stone and the houses here had thatched purple roofs. Trees surrounded the entire city so that it looked like that at any moment the forest might swallow it whole.

"Registration for the pokemon contest started at nine o'clock," Drew muttered while scanning the city for the red roof of the pokemon center.

I spotted it before he did and said, "Hey Drew, are you up for a challenge?"

He finally spotted the pokemon center and turned to look at me before nodding his head slowly.

"Always, what did you have in mind?"

"I bet I can make it to the center before you can."

"What do I get if I win?"

"You mean what you do have to give when_ I_ win," I said confidently, and then I thought for a second before answering.

"Loser has to buy lunch."

"Good enough for me." Drew answered while smirking.

"Alright," I said, "get ready…. and… GO!"

All of a sudden I was running along the unknown streets past the curious eyes of the residents who lived there. I glanced behind me and saw that Drew was only a few feet behind me; he smirked and waved, obviously mocking me. I knew that he wouldn't be able to resist a challenge but at the same time I wasn't going to let him win. I might have had the lead now but he was fast. I saw now that the pokemon center was a couple of paces away. I pushed myself to make my legs move faster. As I got closer I remembered that the pokemon centers had automatic doors so I would have to pause for a second so that the doors would open. It looked like someone was coming out of the center so that would give me some time to quickly scoot inside. Drew must have realized that too and picked up the pace because all of a sudden he was right next to me.

The old woman going through the door was staring at us with huge bug eyes as she tried to get out of the way with her walker. She opened her mouth to scream as she shuffled as fast as she could with her walker clanging on the floor.

The woman finally got out of the way screaming, "STUPID KIDS! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" while shaking her fist at us. A couple of seconds ticked by and I squeezed through the door with Drew close behind. I ran into the center and went to go turn around but apparently Drew hadn't slowed down enough. He crashed into me and we both fell to the floor. I flailed around trying to get away from Drew but that just made things worse as our legs got tangled.

"That old lady was right. You should have watched where you were going!" I screamed at Drew.

"Me? You're the one who decided to stop in the middle of the pokemon center. It's not my fault that I crashed into you." We were on the floor still but we were caught inside our own little world not realizing that we were attracting a lot of stares. Someone cleared their throat and I looked up to see Nurse Joy with a worried look on her face.

"Is everything all right?"

"Yes, just fine," I grumbled as I picked myself off the floor glaring at Drew who was giving me an angry look back.

"You and your dumb ideas," he muttered.

"If it was so stupid then how come you agreed to it?" Drew didn't answer back but instead he rolled his eyes.

"That's what I thought," I said triumphantly.

"Just shut up," he snapped.

"Why don't you just shut up?"

"Why don't you both just shut up? Some of us are actually trying to relax before our big gym matches!" The shout came from a teenage girl with wavy indigo hair that came past her shoulders. She gave us both an angry glare before turning back to the magazine that she was reading.

"Oooooo. Bet you won't hit her though!" Some random stranger shouted out from the far off corner of the room.

"Children stop it. I am the nurse of this pokemon center, which by the way is supposed to be a place of rest and peace," then she turned to Drew and me, "but if you can't stop your squabbling I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm sorry," I muttered while looking at the pink haired young woman who seemed to soften at my apology.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." Drew was looking down at his feet as though he was a toddler being told off by his mother, "Won't happen again."

"That's more like it. Now I assume that there was some reason for you to come to the pokemon center besides practically starting a riot in my lobby."

"We're actually here to enter in the contest," Drew spoke up while trying to get some of his dignity back but obviously failing miserably.

"Oh, you guys are coordinators?"

"That explains a lot." I heard the familiar voice of the girl who had yelled at us before behind us.

I turned and almost expected a confrontation to take place but instead the girl was smiling shyly. Her brown eyes shined as she held out her hand. I took it and we shook hands.

"Hi, I'm Grace."

"May," I answered back, "and this is Drew."

She also held out her hand for Drew to shake which he did with a cool expression on his face. He obviously didn't trust the girl who had yelled at them just minutes before. But truth be known she actually looked at little bashful to me.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you before. I've just been stressed about the gym battle that I'm going to have within the next couple of hours. I'm so nervous."

"That's okay," Drew interjected, "May has a habit of constantly getting herself into ridiculous situations." He smirked.

"Hey mister, you had a hand in this too you know! I didn't just fall onto the floor by myself."

"But it's not as if you haven't done that before either." Drew said this smugly giving me an all knowing look.

"Okay," Grace said grinning broadly, "How long have you guys been going out?"

"Uh, what?" For the first time Drew was speechless as he stared open mouthed at Grace.

"Drew and I are just rivals," I said hurriedly for the second time since I had said the same thing when Drew and I were interrupted by Harley at the cliff's edges just a few short months ago. My face was starting to turn red and when I looked over at Drew he almost looked at little disappointed at my words. I continued to look at him confused until he scoffed and looked away.

"I think Grace is on to something here." My though process was interrupted as I turned around to see Nurse Joy grinning broadly at us. Oh no, I thought, not her too.

"It's so nice to see such passionate young people together. It's obvious that you two are going to fall madly in love. It's only a matter a time," she practically sang at us while winking at me as if sharing in on some big secret. Then she froze and started to blush in embarrassment.

"Eh hem," she cleared her throat obviously realizing she had been extremely unprofessional.

"Don't mind me," she muttered, "I'm just a big romantic." She sighed and then brought up a window on the computer screen on her desk.

"Okay," she said all businesslike now, "This is your first contest in Johto right?" She both looked at us. We both nodded our heads yes.

"Alright then, I'm going to have to see your IDs while I scan your information into the Johto Coordinator Database and also sign you up for the Violet City Contest." We handed her our ID cards and she scanned them before giving them back to us.

"Alright May Maple and Drew Hayden. You should be all ready for the contest that will take place tomorrow. I will be one of the judges there so I look forward to seeing what you'll both come up with for the appeals. Take care." She said before we started to head out the door. Grace said that she had some training to do before her big match and I was about to leave to practice too until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and came face to face with Drew who had an amused expression on his face.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" I gave him a blank stare.

"Lunch's not for a couple of hours," I offered helpfully which caused him to chuckle.

"Nothing gets past you May," he flipped the shaggy hair from his eyes, "Except for the fact that you forgot to reserve a place for you to sleep for the night."

"Oh, right," I said nervously briskly walking back towards Nurse Joy with a chagrined look on my face.

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><p>I had been training for about an hour when I heard a rustling in the bushes. I froze for a second and then became irritated. This wasn't the first time that I had been spied on. I quickly moved towards the bushes and pushed back the branches to reveal a girl of 14 or so with red hair.<p>

"Briana," I almost yelled accusingly. I hadn't expected her to be spying on me. The last time that I had seen her she had been a sweet girl with her first crush, apparently that wasn't the case anymore. I remembered the conversation I overheard on that ship, about how a girl had gone missing. About how this sweet girl who was crouched in front of me allegedly kidnapped another girl so that she wouldn't be able to compete. I shook my head slightly, she wasn't so sweet anymore. For all I knew she was the one who had looked on the night that I had been on the ship's deck with Skarmory. I fought back shivers as I returned Squirtle back to his pokeball.

Briana quickly scrambled to her feet and gave me a scowl that I was only able to glimpse for a moment before it was concealed by a smile that gave me the creeps.

"Hello May. I was just about to say hi but I didn't want to interrupt your training. Besides, I couldn't help watching. Your pokemon have certainly grown stronger." She had a slight frown on her face when she said this but it disappeared in a matter of seconds. I was left speechless by the change of emotions that played across her face.

I tried to find my voice but it was like the words were lodged in my throat.

"Well as much as I'd love to stay and chat with you I really need to go take care of some things that have to get done before the contest tomorrow." She flashed a grin and gave me an impromptu hug that made me feel awkward. Since the conversation had started I hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise. She continued to talk while holding onto me which gave me the feel of a bug trapped in a spider pokemon's web.

"It has been so nice seeing you again. Despite our differences we both seem to have the same thing in common and that's Drew, but let me tell you something. Drew and I were meant to be together."

She paused and turned her head to whisper in my ear, "I don't know what he sees in you but don't think for one second that you'll ever have a chance against me. If you know what's good for you you'll stay away from my Drew." She must have whispered loud enough for someone to hear because I heard a familiar low voice behind us which could only belong to the green haired coordinator, Drew.

"Who ever said that I was yours? That's pretty presumptuous on your part considering that we only met once." His voice was calm but having known him for so long I knew that it was just a cover for what he was really feeling underneath the surface.

"I also don't appreciate you threatening my rival." He stressed the word rival while giving me the same frustrated look that he had given me earlier that morning. Was it just me or was Drew upset that I had described our relationship as "just rivals." My thoughts were interrupted as Drew turned to Briana and continued to talk in his usual confident manner that barely concealed his emotions.

"Having seen what just happened here I feel confident in saying that I will never be attracted to you. Now if you'll excuse me it's time for May and I to go to lunch. Goodbye." He grabbed my arm and started to drag me away from Briana whose shock quickly turned to anger as I watched over my shoulder to see her storm off for the second time since coming to Johto.

I was kind of shaky from the confrontation that had just happened and Drew took notice.

"Some food will help you. Come on, I found us a place to eat." As I walked with him down the streets of Violet City I noticed that he still had my arm in the crook of his arm. To the random stranger on the street we probably looked like a couple.

"How much did you hear?" I asked suddenly finding my voice again.

"Enough," he answered simply before turning to study me. I blushed under his gaze before he looked away to stare at our joined arms. He smiled slightly to himself but then seeing my embarrassment he let go of my arm with a sigh. I almost wanted to put my arm back in his but stopped myself.

"I was looking for you because it was getting close to lunch time and then I saw you with _her._" He said her name with disdain as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. He then continued to talk.

"You know, I used to tolerate her, just like I do with all my other obsessed fans, but her going after you was the last straw," he sighed, "You didn't deserve that and I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? It's not your fault if some deranged psycho falls madly in love with you. Personally I don't blame her."

"Really," he said with an eyebrow raised, "I thought we were just _rivals_."

I laughed softly to myself before turning to face him. We both stopped along the side of the road as we stared at each other. Was I really starting to get feelings for Drew? He had been such a permanent fixture of my life for so long that I had kind of grown used to his company, even started to like it and look forward to it. The silence then started to become awkward as Drew cleared his throat.

"Come on," he said averting his eyes from mine, "we're almost there."

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><p><em>So, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please review. I love reviews. :)<em>


	5. Lunch is Served: Drew POV

_I'm sorry that it has taken me such a long time to write this chapter but I have been insanely busy with the new school year. These past few weeks have been chaotic to say the least. Ah well, at least I've found enough time to do this chapter now.  
><em>

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><p>Chapter 5: <span>Lunch is Served<span>

Drew POV

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><p>As we stepped inside the restaurant a wave of delicious smells wafted over to us and I could see May's face light up as she looked around.<p>

"Noodles," she said happily before turning to beam at me, "How did you know that's my favorite food?"

"Well gee May I've only known you for a couple of years now so it must have been just a lucky guess that I decided to take you to a restaurant that specializes in making noodles."

She rolled her eyes but was too excited to stay annoyed at me for long as we started to walk towards the front counter.

The walls of the restaurant were a light turquoise and there were sturdy wooden tables in front of bay windows that looked out onto a small courtyard. Colorful flowers grew in neat plant beds before the yard gave way to the forest. All in all it was a pretty peaceful place.

"Table for two?" the waitress asked politely as we approached the counter.

"Yes."

"Come this way then." She led us towards an empty table next to one of the windows and handed us some menus.

"Would you like anything to drink while you're waiting to order?"

"I'll have a coke please," I glanced towards May and she answered, "The same for me too."

The waitress wrote down our order and hurried off to the next table.

"Hey Drew, isn't that Harley?"

I looked across the room and sure enough I noticed the purple haired coordinator trying his best to spy on us from across the room by hiding behind a menu. This was all done in vain though as it did nothing to hide the fact that you could see his signature Cacturne hat peeking over the menu. It totally gave him away. I mean, who else would wear something ridiculous like that?

As I continued to stare at Harley he must have sensed that someone was looking at him for when he put down his menu he met my gaze with a grin like the cat who ate the canary. He then wagged his eyebrows up and down mischievously before returning his gaze back to his menu.

"Yep, It's Harley all right," I said with a touch of annoyance in my voice as I glared at the flamboyant coordinator. As he lowered his menu for a second time I swore I could see the corners of his mouth lifting in a slight smile, obviously pleased about all the attention that he was attracting.

A couple of minutes later the waitress came around once more to take our orders as she furiously scribbled them down on a pad of paper before walking away. There was a moment of silence before May spoke.

"After all this time that we've known each other I still don't know things about you."

"Like what?"

"Like what's your favorite color? When's your birthday?"

"My birthday is December 17 and my favorite color is green. What about you?"

"April 9th and the red is my favorite color."

I was surprised to find that I wanted to know as much as I could about her life as possible. Crap, I realized. I really like this girl.

"Favorite Movie?" she asked.

"Last Spinda Standing."

"Oh, I love that movie too. It's one of my favorites," she said excitedly.

For the next couple of minutes we talked about everything, our likes and our dislikes, to the point where I barely noticed when the waitress came and gave us our food. The conversation flowed so easily between us that I wondered why we had never talked like this before. I found myself noticing the little things about May like how her eyes would shine when she got enthused about something or when she got impatient she would give a little sigh and tuck a piece of brunette hair behind her ears.

When we finished eating the waitress came by once more and I gave her the money we owed along with her tips. As May and I walked out the doors of the restaurant a companionable silence fell over us. I didn't know what to think about her anymore. We used to be rivals and had built a friendship between us but now I wasn't so sure if that was enough. It had felt natural to have May's arm tucked in mine as we walked down the street. Being with May was something that I could get used to. When the contest was over she would probably go off to travel by herself again and then who knows when I would ever see her again? Weeks could go by, months even.

"So May," But it didn't look like she was paying attention to me. Her brow was furrowed as though she was deep in thought.

"Uh hello? Earth to May." I waved a hand in front of her face which seemed to snap her out of whatever she was in.

"Huh, what?"

"That's okay," I said teasing her, "it's normal for girls to be speechless in my presence." I smirked.

She rolled her eyes at me but then slightly frowned before she opened her mouth to speak.

"You've known Solidad for a while right?" Her voice was small and I nodded my head. Why was she all of a sudden talking about Solidad?

"May, I've known her for years so if something's going on you should just tell me." She sighed.

"Did you know that she's pregnant?"

"Oh." I was surprised. I realized that Solidad was an adult but at the same time I was shocked to hear the news. For the next couple of minutes May filled me in on how Solidad was going to stay with her grandma and raise the baby. I was a little hurt that Solidad hadn't told me anything about it but at the same time maybe she felt that it would be easier to talk to another female. I sighed causing May to look up at me. I was still a little mad at Solidad for not trusting me with news of something as life changing as a baby. Why did females have to be so confusing all the time? I didn't understand them at all.

The shadows of the forest played on the stone roads of the city, the wind whispering through the trees as if it was giving away precious secrets. A lock of brown hair escaped May's ponytail and was blowing in front of her face. I resisted the urge to tuck it behind her ear as we continued to walk.

"So," she said, "what was up with Harley back there? He was acting crazier than usual." She looked so confused that I had to laugh.

"Come on May, I for one refuse to believe that you're _that _clueless."

"You mean he thought that we were on," she visibly gulped, "a date?" The look on her face was priceless and I had to struggle to keep my face serious otherwise I probably would have burst out in laughter.

"Yah, something along those lines." I tried to be nonchalant about it but I could feel the corners of my mouth lifting in a small smile as I watched May's face steadily turn red.

"Would it have bothered you if people thought that you were going out with me?" After I asked this I saw her blush even more, if that were even possible.

"No." The answer was almost automatic and she gasped when she realized what she had just said. She then quickly tried to cover her tracks but I wasn't fooled as I felt myself start to grin.

"I mean, because I don't care what other people think. I like you Drew but not in that way," she added quickly getting more and more flustered by the second as she stared down at the ground trying to avert my gaze.

"Wow, would you look at that? I really need to get going now. The pokemart is having a sale on camping equipment. I should get going. See you!" With that she scurried off before she could embarrass herself further heading in the totally wrong direction for someone who had to go to the pokemart. I chuckled to myself watching her retreating figure walk farther and farther away from me. I felt a weird emptiness in my chest and I found myself speaking out loud.

"I like you May Maple, and someday I know you'll realize that you like me too."

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><p>It was nine o'clock p.m. when I found myself dialing Solidad's cell phone number and after five rings a familiar voice greeted me from the other side.<p>

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Drew. "

"Drew, how are you?"

"I should be asking you that. May tells me that you're pregnant?"

There was silence on the other end and I was afraid that maybe I had said the wrong thing until finally she spoke again.

"Yes. I suppose I'm going to have to get used to idea of being a mother. At first I was kind of in shock because it's not like I necessarily planned for this to happen though at the same time I _am_ 20 years old. I'm an adult now. But I do have to tell you that Grandma Alma isn't happy about being a great grandma. " I had to laugh at that.

"So, you've been talking to May have you?" Her tone of voice was light and teasing and I realized that she was trying to change the subject off of her.

"Yah, we ate lunch together today. It was weird. May and I have never hung out like that before."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Good," I waited a few seconds before I spoke again, "Solidad?"

"Yes?"

"I think I'm falling for May."

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><p><em>I'm going to start the second segment of driver's training so if it takes me a while to put up the next chapter, don't worry, I haven't abandoned the story or anything. Writing takes time, which is something that I haven't had a lot of lately. Anyways, please review! :)<em>


	6. The Competition: May POV

Chapter 6: The Competition

May POV

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><p>I stood in the pokemon center lobby watching the pouring rain pelt down on scurrying pedestrians as they tried to use umbrellas, newspapers, or coats to protect themselves from the onslaught of water. The sky was dark and the world was illuminated in brief eerie flashes of white light whenever lightning struck nearby. The thunder was heard soon after as it varied between distant rumblings and loud booms that caused several people to jump. Having seen the weather conditions beforehand through my window I had donned a red raincoat before heading downstairs. Now I stood a few feet from the door of the pokemon center trying to psyche myself out to make the dash to the contest that was to take place a block away. I pulled my hood up and took a deep breathe before I opened the door to brave the downpour.<p>

Immediately I was made aware to the sound of rain that had grown louder, almost increasing in intensity as I walked briskly down the street. I could feel the raindrops bouncing off me and could tell that my hair was still getting slightly wet in spite of the fact that I had tried to shove all of my hair into my hood. The water streamed down my face as I scanned my surroundings to see if I was getting close to where the contest was to take place. Spotting the familiar building I had located the day before I quickened my pace in order to get out of the rain as soon as possible.

I reached for the handle of the door and pulled it open. As I stepped inside I pulled down my hood and ran my fingers through my hair as to attempt to tame the frizz that was probably there. A couple of stragglers were waiting in line with tickets in hand to get inside the arena. I walked past them to enter a door on the left marked for the contestants.

I pushed open the door and walked down a few steps that lead to the coordinators' room. It was a big place filled with benches that had been set up in front of the monitor that hung on the far wall. A young girl with silky blonde hair sat on a stool in the far corner of the room getting her hair braided by a person who looked to be her older sister. The older girl was murmuring words of encouragement saying how everyone got nervous before their first pokemon contest. She must have felt my gaze because she looked up at me. Her brown eyes widened upon seeing me and the strangest of expressions crossed her face before she quickly turned back to her sister.

I tried to shake off the weird look as I chose a bench off to the side of the monitor and released my pokemon, giving them pokeblocks and grooming them for the contest. I was so absorbed in my work that I almost jumped when a certain rose pokemon rubbed against my legs.

"Roselia!" The cheery little pokemon said its name and then looked up with me with such a cute expression that my heart melted.

"Roselia, you nearly scared the crap out of me," I gently scolded her before slipping her a green pokeblock. I bent over to pick up the brush that I had dropped on the floor but a pair of hands beat me to it. I looked up and was met with a pair of unmistakable emerald eyes. They were bright with humor as he handed me the brush and sat down on the bench next to me.

"So," he said nonchalantly, "how was the sale?"

"Huh? Oh… the sale. It was good." I averted my gaze from his. Yesterday, with Drew, I had made up that excuse just so that I could get away after that embarrassing moment where I practically said that I liked him. He was about to say something but I was saved by the energetic voice coming from the monitor.

"Good morning and welcome to the Violet City Contest! My name is Jillian and I will be your MC today." A thunderous applause followed this statement as random people in the audience could be heard screaming, "We love you Jillian!" After the crowd died down Jillian picked up where she left off.

"Now then, let's start by introducing our judges!"

All of the judges that she had introduced I recognized from my earlier contest days. As Nurse Joy was introduced I smiled but the warm moment didn't last long as I recognized the last name that was called off.

"Last, but certainly not least, our guest judge is our very own Falkner, gym leader of the Violet City Gym!" I let out a small gasp of disbelief and I could feel Drew's questioning gaze. I hadn't told him who the father of Solidad's baby was.

"Now that all of the judges have been introduced let me just say that I really look forward to seeing all of our contestants' appeals! So let's give it our best out there!" Her enthusiasm was apparently contagious as the crowd roared its approval.

The screen then showed the order in which everyone was to perform their appeals. I recognized a few familiar faces besides Drew's and Harley's. One of the other familiar faces was Briana who was scheduled for the first appeal.

There were to be a few minutes before the appeals began and I could feel Drew's gaze on my face.

"Why did you react like that when Jillian introduced that Falkner guy?" A couple of seconds passed before I answered.

"Because," I took a deep breath, "that's the father of Solidad's baby."

A few more beats of silence followed that statement before Drew spoke again.

"And now she has to take of his baby by herself?" I nodded. He looked agitated for a moment and then muttered something along the lines of, "We'll see about that," before walking out of the lobby. I sighed and sat on the bench waiting for the next few minutes to pass by.

I could see her out of the corner of my eye as she approached me. It was the young woman who had looked at me so strangely while braiding the younger girl's hair.

"I know you don't know me," she started, "but please listen to what I have to tell you." I waited and the woman looked to be at war with herself. I wondered what was going on in that mind of hers.

Finally she said, "You should stay clear of Briana. She has it out for you. I should know; I was there when she got kicked out of the fan club." Yeah, I was there too, I thought wryly to myself. The woman looked around to see if anyone was noticing our conversation as if at any moment she would be caught talking to me by the wrong people.

"Here," she put a large tan envelope in my hands, "This should tell you all you need to know. Be careful." With that she took off before I could get out a single word. I stood there for a few seconds trying to process what had just happened before I walked over to a less crowded corner of the room and used my finger nails to rip open the top of the envelope. My pokemon gathered by my side, curious of what the woman could have gave me. I was curious too. At that point I realized that I didn't even know the name of the young woman that had talked to me. Oh well, I thought, she had acted so paranoid she probably would have preferred me not to know her name. I was shocked when I pulled out the first thing in the envelope. It was a newspaper clipping dating back to last year about the girl who was kidnapped from the Viridian City contest. The one Alma told me about. It was a short article and my eyes fell on the photo taken of the girl who had been kidnapped. She was someone who could have easily been mistaken for me with our brown hair and similar build in common. Shivers went down my spine as I hastily shoved the papers back into the envelope so that I could read the article when I wasn't in a room full of people.

* * *

><p>"Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a warm round of applause for our first contestant, Briana!"<p>

Briana was different from when I last saw her at a contest. She used to portray a sweet personality but now it appeared as if she had shed her old demeanor for one more openly hostile as she sauntered on stage.

"Vibrava, now's the time!" She threw the pokeball towards the center of the stage and the sphere snapped open to reveal a creature resembling a dragonfly.

"Let's use dragon pulse!" The dragon move was starting to take shape from Vibrava's mouth until it grew larger to the point where the whole arena could witness the crackling energy that came off it. Some people even cringed as they waited for the predictable explosive results. Remarkably Vibrava was able to maintain the seemingly uncontrollable energy until the demand came from Briana to release it. A few seconds later Briana raised her hand as some kind of signal for Vibrava. Not missing a beat the loyal pokemon started to click its wings together which resulted in a high pitched whirring sound. Some kind of power was being harnessed by the screeching noise until a burst of sound waves could be seen shooting off in the same path the previous move took.

Seconds ticked by and the vibrations in the air collided with the pure force of the dragon pulse. Multiple explosions could be heard as the combined moves began to shower the arena with deadly indigo sparks.

An arrogant smile could be seen on her face as she soaked in the applause from the audience.

"Wow! What a dazzling performance! Let's hear what out judges have to say. Mr. Contesta?"

"I thought it was an excellent use of displaying the power of your pokemon. Well done."

"Remarkable." I smiled to myself as I wondered if Mr. Tsukizo knew any other words besides remarkable. Nurse Joy was the next to critique the appeal.

"The end result was certainly a sight to behold. You must have trained very hard with your pokemon."

It was Falkner's turn to talk now.

"Stunning. Just Stunning. I don't think there's anything else to say." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. Was it just me or did Falkner look a little more serious from when I saw him last?

"Well there you have it folks! The first appeal is done and now its time to see some of the other talent in this competition, so let's get to it!"

Drew came back and sat next to me as we watched the rest of the appeals together. I asked him about what he had said to Falkner and he responded with, "Let's just say we had a little chat." The tone of his voice implied more than that but I didn't question him any further. What he and Falkner talked about concerning Solidad's baby was private. We watched Harley's appeal as he ran onto the stage blowing kisses before releasing his Cacturne.

"Cacturne darling, let's show them your bullet seed!" On cue the desert pokemon began to spit seeds out of its mouth in an arc over its head. Not wasting any time, Harley issued the next command.

"Alright, now let's use your needle arm! Remember, just like we practiced," he said in a sing song voice. Giant thorns grew out of Cacturne's arms, sharp and dangerous. Then, something unexpected happened. Cacturne began to spin until all that could be seen was a blur of motion, the arms swinging like a propeller off a plane. The pokemon then jumped into the air. As the seeds from the previous attack came down the blade- like arms chopped them into a fine white powder. The powder fell softly down to the arena like falling snow. It was beautiful. Harley had obviously done some serious training. The judges all loved his appeal and the thunderous applause from the audience was enough to confirm what Harley already knew. He looked smug as he walked off the stage.

Time flied by and soon enough I found myself running towards the middle of the stage as Jillian introduced me.

"And now, all the way from her home in Hoenn, it's May Maple!"

I waved at the audience and threw my pokeball into the center of the arena.

"Beautifly, take the stage!" She flitted out of her pokeball and waited for me to make the next move.

"Let's use silver wind!" Beautifly flapped her wings until the wind started to gather into a small tornado. I then ordered Beautifly to fly above the windstorm and dive down straight into it. I could hear the shocked reaction from the audience as they watched Beautifly get surrounded by walls of wind. I, however, knew that Beautifly was alright from all of the times we had practiced this move. Even though the wind roared around her, the eye of the tornado was calm.

"It's time to use morning sun!" A bright golden light pierced the funnel of wind as the glowing outline of Beautifly could be seen. Collective sighs of relief could be heard from some in the stands as they realized that Beautifly was unharmed.

"Now, let's finish this with psychic!" The wind column dissipated under the powerful move and Beautifly was left flapping its wings gently as sparkles showered down on her. Applause filled the arena as I stood next to Beautifly and bowed. Jillian asked for the judges' opinions and I stood there waiting to hear what they thought about it. Mr. Contesta was to go first.

"What a surprising turn of events! I didn't know how you were going to pull that off but you managed to do it anyways! Good Job."

"Remarkable!"

"I loved the suspense in your appeal. It kept me on the edge of my seat right up until the end. It was a wonderful performance."

Falkner was the last to critique. "I have to agree with the other judges. You seem to have trained that Beautifly extremely well. Keep up the good work." I thanked the judges and walked off the stage as Jillian introduced the next coordinator.

After Drew's appeal we went outside for a little break. The rain had stopped and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. Drew had chosen to do his appeal with Roselia. She got high praise from the judges after she performed petal dance, followed by a strong solar beam that illuminated the petals, giving them a soft glow. It seemed like everyone was at the top of their game today.

We stopped walking and Drew turned to me with a serious look on his face.

"My sister's getting married this weekend so after the contest I'll be leaving for Hoenn."

"When will you be back?"

"A couple of days." Silence fell over us as we started to head back towards the building.

"It's going to be a small wedding. I'm going to play the guitar at the reception afterwards."

"That's cool. I didn't know you knew how to play the guitar."

"Yeah, my dad taught me when I was little," he pulled out his pokedex and pressed a few buttons," here." When he turned it towards me I saw a photo of his family. Drew had obviously gotten his green hair from his mom as his dad was blonde. Drew was standing next to a young woman with blonde hair and green eyes, who I assumed was his sister.

When we finally sat down on the benches in the coordinators' room it was almost time for the results of who would be making it to the next round. I crossed my fingers as the photos of those still in the contest started popping up on the screen.

* * *

><p><em>I left it off at a cliffy! The next chapter should be updated a lot sooner than this one was, to be sure. :) Sorry for any mistakes. I was typing this pretty late at night.<br>_


	7. The Disappearing Act: May POV

Chapter 7: The Disappearing Act

May POV

* * *

><p>I let out a sigh of relief when I saw my photo on the screen. I had made it through! Drew, Harley, and Briana also made it through too. There was no surprise there though. They all had strong appeals.<p>

Once the screen showed all those who were moving on to the next round the computer scrambled the photos until everyone was lined up with another person for the battling portion of the contest. I was set to battle with a boy that looked around my age with gray eyes and short brown hair. I looked around the room until I saw him leaning against the wall across the room. He caught me looking at him and winked which of course made me blush. The guy was chuckling to himself until I saw him stop abruptly and turn towards the monitor with a sudden new interest in the results. I looked over at Drew and saw him giving the guy a death glare. I nearly jumped when I heard a voice behind us.

"Oh, how _cute_. Green hair's jealous."

"Shut up."

"Look at him blush!" Harley squealed like a schoolgirl talking to her friends about secret crushes.

"I'm not blushing," Drew took a defensive tone while running his fingers through his green hair, "Why would I have a reason to blush?"

"Oh, I think you _know_ why." Harley wagged his index finger back and forth. "Tsk tsk Drew. I see you're _still_ in denial. Looks like I'll have to do something about that." He looked so mischievous I almost expected him to whip back his head and go MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

"Now I've wasted enough time on you two. There's only going to be one person coming out of this contest with a ribbon and you can bet it's going to be me."

"We'll see about that Harley. In case you haven't noticed you haven't won yet so I wouldn't be bragging if I were you." I got a smile out of Drew for that comment as Harley stormed off muttering under his breath, "And to think I tried to help you twits." After he left Drew and I threw back our heads and laughed. It felt so good to laugh after all the recent stress.

I glanced up at the screen and saw that Harley was matched up with Briana. One drama queen against another seemed only fitting. Battles took place over the next hour as contestants competed for the coveted Violet City ribbon. Drew's battle was up next so he got up off the bench and started walking away.

Over his shoulder he smirked and said, "Try not to get into any trouble while I'm gone okay?" I walked after him.

"What do you _mean_; try not to get into any trouble? I'm not a little kid you know!"

Drew smiled and it enraged me further that he was taking pleasure in this. I opened my mouth to say something insulting when he put a finger to my lips to stop me from saying anything else.

"You see there, that's what's been missing. That fire. I was afraid after what all had happened your confidence would be shaken."

He stopped and looked into my eyes before saying, "And yes, neither of us are little kids anymore." His finger was still on my lips and I could feel my face burning. He then smiled before turning to head towards the stairs that lead up to the stage.

"It's coming down to the wire now with just a few precious seconds on the clock! With both coordinators left with little energy, who will win and go on to the next round?"

"Absol, let's use water pulse, go!" A burst of water shot towards the opponent's pokemon sending showers down on the stage like rain. The other coordinator quickly retaliated.

"Cloyster, jump through that water pulse and use withdraw to protect yourself." The oyster pokemon followed its master's command and leaped through the attack like it was nothing leading to a very surprised Absol. Drew gritted his teeth.

"Now! It's time to use toxic spikes Cloyster!" Purple darts seemed to shoot out of the pokemon's shell straight towards Absol.

"Absol, use flash!" A blinding light filled the arena, leaving Cloyster disoriented so that the flow of toxic spikes was stopped. However it wasn't done before a few poisonous barbs attached themselves to the dark type pokemon. I grimaced. This wasn't going to be good for Drew with only ten seconds remaining on the clock. Drew seemed to realize this too as he ordered Absol to do an attack that would hopefully make a dent on the opponent's pokemon before the time ran out.

"Absol use razor wind!" Absol seemed to be weakened by the barbs that were leeching off his energy but he put all of his remaining energy behind the attack.

The razor wind hit Cloyster head on causing it to fly back just as the buzzer sounded. Jillian's voice filled the arena and I held my breath. Both of the pokemon seemed to be at the same level of health until Absol collapsed onto the ground, the Cloyster's poison finally getting to him.

"And it looks like the victory goes to Seth and his Cloyster! Congratulations to both coordinators for a well fought battle!" Drew walked up to Seth and shook his hand before checking on Absol. He murmured soothing words to his pokemon and petted his side before returning him back to his pokeball.

When he walked back into the coordinator's lobby and sat down next to me I was worried that he would be upset. Drew however looked calm, as always, and I should have known that he would keep his cool.

He simply shrugged and said, "Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. I'll just train my pokemon harder and next time we'll be ready."

Briana and Harley's battle was up next and Drew smirked while saying, "This should be interesting."

Briana and Harley stalked off towards the stairs that led up to the stage and we could hear the conversation they were having as they exchanged heated words.

"Try not to cry when I beat you little girl." Briana's eyes narrowed at what Harley had just said.

"Who are you calling a little girl? You're the one with the long purple hair wearing that ugly ass Cacturne hat!"

"WHAT! You little brat! This hat is a stroke of design genius."

"More likely it'll give someone a stroke with how hideous it is!"

"Why you little….. That's it! You just made my list!" Harley pulled a notebook out of nowhere that read "Vendetta Notebook" on the front in purple glittery letters. He furiously scribbled down something in the notebook before whipping out a camera and taking a picture before Briana could react.

"Wow. Some things never change," I whispered to Drew who smirked a little at that.

A couple minutes later we saw them both on the monitor, facing each other off, waiting impatiently for the battle to begin. After Jillian introduced them to the audience the buzzer rang out and the coordinators released their pokemon.

"Ariados, let's go dearie!" The pokeball snapped open and the large red spider jumped agilely to the ground.

"Tangela, now's the time!" Briana threw the pokeball and Tangela came out. The grass type was engulfed with blue vines that obscured its entire body. Harley was the first one to call out an attack.

"Darling, let's show her our spider web. Shall we?" Upon hearing Harley's request Ariados began to shoot out a silky thread from her pincers. Within seconds the entire arena was covered by a sticky spider web that looked invisible in some areas where the thread was weaker. Ariados climbed to a high vantage point in the rafters of the arena that left Tangela vulnerable on the ground.

"Now! Use string shot!" A few moments passed and soon the vine pokemon was ensnared in a net made from spider silk. The bar that indicated the health and style points for Briana's pokemon went down by a third.

"Ariados, time to use double edge!" Ariados moved in for the kill and I could see Harley smirking, clearly thinking that this was going to be over with very quickly. Briana didn't even do anything until Ariados was directly above her pokemon.

"Tangela, use tickle!" It was made obvious now that Briana had only been faking out Harley as Tangela's vines slithered through the holes in the net and tickled the spider pokemon. Ariados was caught off guard as she lost her balance on the strands of the web causing her to plummet towards the ground, her points plummeting with her. Harley shrieked in anger before issuing a command.

"Ariados, use string shot and swing yourself back up!" After performing that move Ariados was now back in the rafters, her beady eyes glowing in the shadows of the arena. Harley was laughing now.

"You didn't think it would be that easy to defeat _me _did you?" I could see Briana's hands that hung by her sides clench into fists.

"Use vine whip Tangela! Try to get that net off of you!" The vines snaked around the net, trying to get a grip, until he threw the web off of himself. Briana was smiling then but it didn't last long.

"Use shadow ball darling!" A sphere of ghostly energy shot towards Tangela, who narrowly dodged it. Harley lost points for the vine pokemon's evasion.

"I'm going to get you this time! Use shadow ball again Ariados and keep them coming till we hit that little midget's pokemon!" Tangela seemed to be almost dancing as he narrowly avoided getting hit by each move. It was mesmerizing to watch. Harley wasn't too happy though as his points continued to go down. Ariados kept following Tangela overhead until something unexpected happened. Ariados must have skittered over to where the web was weaker because all of a sudden she was falling, only this time Harley was too stunned to react. As Ariados crashed to the ground the last few seconds ticked by on the clock and the the buzzer sounded declaring the end of the match.

"The contestant going on to the next round will be," Jillian paused for suspense until the results flashed up on the screen, "Briana! Congratulations on your win!"

I looked up worriedly at the screen where Briana was standing in front of the crowd with a victorious smile on her face. Drew noticed me looking at the screen and spoke.

"If you're worrying about her, don't. You've been playing this game longer than she has so you have the advantage." I didn't even want to think about the fact that Harley had more battling experience than us both.

I won a couple of battles before I found myself going to the final round of battling where my opponent was none other than Briana. Jillian was energetic, as always, as she introduced us to the crowd.

"We now find ourselves at the final match of the day where the victor will take home the Violet City ribbon! May and Briana, get ready because the clock starts now!"

"Squirtle, take the stage!"

"Kecleon, now's the time!" Briana's pokeball released a small green chameleon pokemon with a red zigzag pattern across its belly. I remembered Brock telling me how a Kecleon could camouflage itself with its surroundings, its only weakness being that the red zigzag couldn't blend into the background like the rest of its body.

"Squirtle, let's use water gun."

"Kecleon dodge and use psybeam!" I watched the psychic attack grow nearer and smiled to myself. I knew the perfect counter to that move. After being defeated by Drew's Butterfree I made sure to learn how to counter psychic attacks.

"Counter it with ice beam!" A pillar of ice sped towards Kecleon, picking up the pyschic energy with it as the combined elements hit Kecleon head on. Briana lost a quarter of her points as Jillian commented on the beauty of the move.

"Time to disappear Kecleon," Briana called out to her pokemon. I grew nervous as her pokemon hid from sight until I spied the red zigzag moving towards Squirtle.

"Squirtle, on your right! Aim your bubble attack on that red zigzag!" Briana responded very quickly.

"Oh no you don't. Kecleon use double team!" All of a sudden there were multiple zigzags in the arena surrounding Squirtle. I was about to order Squirtle to hit all the illusions with his bubble attack but was too late when Briana quickly told Kecleon to do a fury swipes attack.

The chameleon pokemon clawed at Squirtle and I immediately called him to attack with ice beam, which needless to say, made a direct hit. For a few brief seconds Kecleon was startled into reappearing and I seized the opportunity.

"Rapid spin Squirtle, let's go!" However Kecleon was too fast because when Squirtle sped towards where Kecleon should have been he hit nothing causing us to lose points. Briana and I now had the same level of points with only a third of the bar remaining.

There was less than a minute left on the clock and time was running out fast. I scanned the stage but there were too many places where Kecleon could have hid. I quickly came up with a plan in my head and hoped that it would work. I had limited time and shooting off random attacks would just cost me points. I had to use the whole stage if I could.

"Let's use rapid spin with bubble!" Soon Squirtle filled the whole arena with bubbles but I wasn't done yet.

"Now, use ice beam on those bubbles!" The bubbles became frozen by the ice beam and as they gained weight they began to drop to the ground like basketball sized hailstones.

"Squirtle, use withdraw, quick!" Squirtle tucked himself into his protective shell just in time.

The hailstones hitting the ground sounded like someone smashing china on concrete. The shattering noise increased as they made contact with the floor as chunks of ice splintered off. I gritted my teeth as I watched my points steadily go down with each missed attack. Come on, I thought to myself, they can't all miss. Can they? Finally I saw a glimpse of green as Kecleon was struck by several shards of ice. After a few hits Kecleon was knocked out and a buzzer rang out meaning that the battle was over. I glanced over at Briana who had a scowl on her face as she returned her Kecleon back to his pokeball. She then turned on her heel and headed towards the exit without a backwards glance.

I thanked Squirtle for doing such a good job before returning him back to his pokeball for a good rest. Afterwards the judges awarded me my first Johto ribbon. It was a beautiful deep shade of purple with vibrant streaks of royal blue throughout the ribbon. In the center was a golden seal that held the ribbon together. I held it tightly in my hands trying to make myself believe that it was actually mine and that I had won my very first ribbon in this foreign region. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world, like a high that washed over me, leaving me elated.

It was around 4 o'clock when I started to head out for the next leg of my journey. I couldn't find Drew anywhere and assumed that he had already left for his sister's wedding. I felt sad because I wanted to talk to him before he left. Feeling forlorn about Drew I walked through Violet City until I reached the outskirts of town. I was just about to pass Sprout Tower when I noticed someone standing next to the swaying structure, someone with green hair. I picked up my pace and practically started to run until I was standing right next to him.

"Why are you here?" I asked him breathlessly, "I thought you had already left for your sister's wedding."

"Well, I figured that you would pass by here and I wanted to see you before I left. Here, this is for you." He held out a long stemmed red rose for me.

"It's been a while since I've gotten one of these," I said as I took the flower, blushing. "You know, you never did tell me who all of these were for."

"You mean you still haven't figured it out?" He looked at me intently, searching my eyes for the truth. There was silence before he spoke again.

"They're for you. They've always been for you."

All of sudden I realized how close we had gotten and Drew tilted my chin up so that my eyes met his, his green into my blue. He leaned towards me until his lips lightly met mine, my pulse racing as we kissed for the first time. We stayed like that for a few seconds until he broke off the kiss to whisper in my ear.

"I knew you liked me May Maple."

He had to leave at five and so we spent the rest of the day in the courtyard. Drew sat with his back against a tree truck with his arms wrapped around me as I leaned into his chest.

"So," Drew said, "I told you about my family during the contest. Now it's your turn."

"Well, there's not much to tell. My father is the head of the pokemon gym in Petalburg City. He raises normal type pokemon and Max is working to take over once dad retires."

"What was it like to live in a pokemon gym growing up?"

I shrugged, "I guess it was like any other childhood, except I remember this one time when our house was without power for a couple of days because one of dad's opponents used a powerful electric type move during the match that hit our breaker box. Mom was so mad."

"Who won the match?"

"My dad," I said beaming with pride. Drew looked taken aback by my smile before smiling himself, his eyes filled with warmth.

"I wonder what you were like as a child," Drew murmured.

"I was completely different from now. When I was a child I used to be afraid of pokemon."

Drew moved a little to look at me with disbelief.

"Seriously? I would have thought that you would be the type of kid that would have pokemon plushies all over their room and having pretend pokemon matches. Why were you so afraid of pokemon?" His eyes searched mine and I sighed before speaking.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But you can't tease me about it."

"Why not? I love to tease you," he said chuckling softly before stopping when he saw the serious look in my eyes. "Alright," he said while giving my arm a gentle squeeze, "I won't laugh; I promise."

"When I was a child at the beach with my parents, I was swimming in the ocean when a group of tentacool surrounded me. I was scared and started to cry so my parents tried to capture the tentacool next to me, except my mom mistook me for one of the pokemon and threw a pokeball at me instead." I paused for a moment and glanced at Drew who was trying his best not to laugh.

"Hey, you promised not to laugh," I said while turning around to face him.

"I'm sorry, I just…was trying to picture your mom throwing a pokeball at you" Drew broke off into laughter, his shoulders heaving. I was going to turn away from him when he stopped me.

"But you have to admit; you'd make a pretty cute tentacool."

"Drew…"

"No, I mean it. You really are adorable, especially when you get mad." I began to blush furiously when he said that and Drew just smiled and held me closer.

After a while he said, "Do you miss them? Ash, Brock, your family?"

"Yeah, there have been times where I have felt really lonely and homesick, but whenever I'm with you I always feel better."

There was a pause before Drew said, "Whenever I'm with you, I always feel better too."

* * *

><p>After a while it was time for Drew to leave and we finally had to say goodbye. I didn't want to see him go, even though I knew that I would see him soon. I didn't want to be parted from him.<p>

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too May. I know we both have to go our own separate ways for now but could we meet up a month from now in Ecruteak City?"

"Of course," I whispered before I kissed him goodbye, "Till then."

"Till then," he echoed before his lips descended on mine. A couple of minutes later we broke apart and I waved him goodbye as he walked away. I was still there when a voice startled me.

"I thought you said you guys weren't dating." I looked and saw that the teasing voice belonged to the girl Drew and I had met at the pokemon center, Grace.

I shrugged before saying, "Things change."

"Apparently."

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and started to walk back towards the outskirts of town.

"So, how did your gym match go?"

"See for yourself," she said as she opened her badge case to reveal a badge that resembled white bird wings, like that of a dove.

"Impressive."

"Thanks. I'm heading out for the next gym in Azalea town."

"Really? I'm going in that direction too. Want to travel with me?"

"Sure. It would be nice to have someone to talk to. Alright, let's do it!" We walked past the pokemon gym and then stopped for a moment when we saw Falkner come out through the doors. A second person followed behind as they carried out their conversation.

"Tell everybody that I'm closing the gym for a couple of days. I should be back later in the week." Having said that he threw a pokeball into the air which released a Pidgeot. He climbed onto Pidgeot's back and they flew off into the sky without another word.

_What's Falkner up to? We're just going to have to wait and see because the next chapter will be done in a new point of view so stay tuned! :D I just want to say thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing this story. You guys are awesome._


	8. A Change of Heart: Falkner POV

Chapter 8: A Change of Heart  
>Falkner POV<p>

* * *

><p>The wind rushing past me left me feeling exhilarated as Pidgeot and I flew over an ocean of trees. The forest was now making its transition into autumn as the once vibrant jade canopy opted for warm tones of yellow, orange, and red. Some of the trees had already shed all of their leaves, their barren branches reaching towards the heavens. The sun was starting to sink into the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant colors that changed from deep purple on the edges to a vivid red near the setting sun. We had been riding air currents for most of the day, stopping every once and a while for breaks. Pidgeots could stay up in the air for hours as long as they caught a good air current to soar in. As we coasted above the trees the memory from the day before flooded into my head until it dominated all of my thoughts.<p>

* * *

><p><em>The brief intermission between appeals allowed me some time to walk around and stretch my legs before the next round of appeals started. From the corner of my eye I saw a green haired teenage boy emerge from the doorway, scanning the room until he spotted me and began to walk in my direction until he was standing right in front of me. Probably just another fan I thought to myself. Ever since I had become the Violet City gym leader my popularity had gone up a considerable amount leaving me to fend off crazed fans who had seemed to become obsessed with me overnight.<em>

_"Look. I'm not signing autographs right now so..."_

_"I'm not here for an autograph." The boy then studied me for a few seconds before continuing, staring me down. "I'm here about Solidad." Solidad's face flashed in my mind with her bright blue eyes that resembled the clearest of skies and her scarlet hair._

_"Solidad? Is she all right?" The boy almost sneered at me when I said that. Definitely not a fan I thought to myself._

_"Why would you care, considering what you've done?"_

_"Now wait just a minute. Who the hell are you even? And how do you know Solidad?"_

_"Solidad and I have been friends for years so you can imagine how I felt when I found out that she was pregnant and what more that the father of the baby ran out on her." __I was left speechless. What could I have said when everything that he had mentioned was true? I had run out on her because I was scared. After all, what did I know about being a father? I wracked my brain for something to say but came up with nothing. The kid had me cornered but good. A few seconds passed by before I finally broke the silence between us._

_"You know that I still love her right?" He scoffed at that and I didn't blame him. It must have seemed like a weak statement coming from the man who had abandoned her. I did love her though. I had just panicked and made a huge mistake. A mistake that I was going to regret for the rest of my life. The kid then trained his emerald eyes on me and spoke very slowly.  
><em>

_"If you really cared about her you would be with her right now."_

_"But even if I do go back to Solidad who's to say that she would even consider taking me back?"  
><em>

_"That's your problem," he said rather bluntly. I began to get annoyed at this green- haired teenager. Who was he to stand there and judge me? I didn't even know his name._

_"Hey kid. What did you say your name was?"  
><em>

_"I didn't," he paused before saying, "but if you must know it's Drew."_

_"Well Drew, not a lot of people would dare to confront a gym leader like this."  
><em>

_"I guess there's a first time for everything." _He smirked before turning his back on me and walking away.  
><em>_

* * *

><p>We were getting closer to Cherrygrove City now to the point where I could smell the salt in the breeze coming off the ocean. The sky had quickly darkened within in the past half hour and the city where Solidad lived was within our sights. I remembered when I used to make the trip on my Pidgeot to go see her all the time. I hadn't realized how much I really missed her until that moment. I missed her smile, her laugh. My stomach practically lurched when I thought about our baby that grew inside her.<p>

A few minutes passed by until Pidgeot and I were flying within the city limits of Cherrygrove. The streetlamps that lined the streets were already beginning to light up as if announcing the darkness that was to come with the night. We landed in front of a two story house that had been painted white with bright red shutters. The steps leading up to the house were lined with potted plants that looked to have been carefully tended for. I got off of Pidgeot, feeding him a pokeblock before returning him to his pokeball for a well deserved rest.

I nervously tucked my navy hair behind my ears as I ascended the steps. Taking a deep breath I raised my hand and knocked on the door, once, twice, three times. A couple of seconds later I heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door. The door swung open and I was met by a familiar old woman whose eyes narrowed upon seeing me.

"Falkner. Why are you here?"

"Alma, I just need to see her."

"Hmph. I guess I'll go check with her and see if she wants to talk to you or not. Wait here for just a minute." It seemed like an eternity until she came back to the front door.

"She's very tired right now and doesn't feel like talking with you. I hope you'll understand." I nodded dejectively and turned to walk down the steps. I kept walking until I found myself in the center of town, my gaze falling on the sidewalk in front of the grocery store where Solidad and I had first met.

* * *

><p><em>I didn't even know why I was here. I had been spending the majority of my time in Violet City where I had been recently appointed the leader of the flying type gym. Someone had mentioned to me that I should take a break from all my rigorous training and so here I was, in the City of Cherrygrove. I was walking on the sidewalk when a fast moving blur came out of the automatic doors of the supermarket. The blur crashed into me sending us both sprawling on the ground. When I looked up my eyes connected with a young woman's who looked to be around the same age as me. Her azure eyes snapped when she saw that all of her groceries had fallen to the ground and she quickly scrambled up to put them all back in her shoppping bags. I stayed there frozen as I watched her, she was so beautiful. She pushed a lock of red hair from her face and glanced at me irritatedly.<em>

_"Why don't you take a picture? It lasts longer."_

_Her sarcastic comment jolted me back to life as I quickly closed my gaping mouth realizing how much of an idiot I probably looked like. I snatched up a few of her groceries and put them into the plastic bags for her, causing her expression to soften as she looked at me gratefully for my help._

_"Falkner," I mumbled._

_"What?"_

_"My name's Falkner," I said a little more clearly, embarrassed at myself for being so tongue-tied. What was wrong with me? I was supposed to be a gym leader for Arceus's sake._

_"Oh. I'm Solidad." We shook hands and finished putting the rest of her groceries in the bags._

_"Thanks for helping me, you didn't have to do that you know."_

_"Oh, I kind of had to with that scary look you were giving me."_

_"Who Me? Scary looks? Never..." We both laughed at that. As we continued to talk a Pidgey softley landed behind her, pecking at some crumbs that lay on the sidewalk. Solidad caught my gaze and looked at the little bird pokemon before sighing._

_"What's wrong?" _

_"Oh nothing. I've just been trying to catch a Pidgey for a couple of days now but every single time I try to engage one in a battle it just flies away.I don't think the Pidgey around here like me very much."_

_"Nonsense," I said, "Why_ wouldn't _they like you? They're just a little shy is all. Here, I'll help you catch one." I pulled out the pokeball that contained Doduo and threw it into the air where it snapped open, releasing the two headed bird as it gracefully landed to the ground. Doduo let out a small high pitched cry as it got pumped for a battle. As the leader of a bird type pokemon gym I was feeling pretty confident._

_"Alright Doduo, let's use peck!" It didn't take long for the wild Pidgey to realized that it was under attack so it started to flap its wings for a sand-attack, the whirl of tossed up earth obscuring the Pidgey. When the miniature sand storm died down the Pidgey was long gone. I could hear Solidad cracking up next to me. _

_"I'm sorry," she said while gasping for breath, "It's just that it's so reassuring to know that it's not just me that's having problems with trying to catch a little bird pokemon." _

_"Yeah, well I'm glad that I could amuse you," I said sarcastically, a little disappointed that my attempt to show off in front of her had failed miserably. "Next time that Pidgey won't be so lucky."_

_"Oh I'm sure," Solidad said while trying to keep a straight face, her face still red from laughing so hard._

_At that moment she hadn't believed me but a few weeks later I had caught a Pidgey and gave it to her. Just the look of happiness on her face was enough to let me know that I had done something right._

* * *

><p>I now knew what I had to do. I couldn't live without Solidad in my life, that was for sure. Some of the days that I had spent with her had been some of the best in my life. Before I knew it I changed my direction and was now walking back towards the place that I had just left, determined to make things right.<p>

I stood on their porch for the second time that evening, knocking on the door. When Alma opened the door to see me there she looked a little mad. She always had been very protective of Solidad.

"Now what did I just tell you? She doesn't want to talk to you."

"Please. I just need to see her."

"What do I need to do to get through to you? Call the police?" Alma slammed the door behind her. I certainly didn't want to get into any trouble with law enforcement and was about to walk away when that green haired kid's words echoed in my head_. "If you really cared about her you would be with her right now."_

It was then when I decided to do something very stupid. I saw a light on the second story of the house and I ran until I was underneath the lit window on the front lawn.

"SOLIDAD! SOLIDAD!" I shouted on the top of my lungs so that she could hear me. "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY THAT I ACTED LIKE SUCH AN ASS! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" My yelling seemed to wake up the neighborhood as lights came on down the street, the various windows emitting a soft yellow glow that penetrated the dark. I heard a yell come from one of the neighboring houses.

"Solidad, just forgive him already so that he can shut up and we all can go back to sleep!"

The window on the second story opened and a head popped out. I grinned like an idiot to see her familiar face, which was at the moment scowling at me.

"Are you crazy! What do you mean by yelling like that! In case you didn't notice IT'S LATE!" It was ironic that she was telling me not to be loud when she was yelling too.

"I don't care! I'm going to keep yelling until either you or Alma opens the door or the cops haul me away! Your choice."

"Fine. I'll go open the door. You don't have to be so damn dramatic." I could hear her mumbling as she shuffled away from the window. A few minutes later the door reopened and I gratefully made my way inside the house.

I could hear the muted sounds of the television from the living room playing as I followed Solidad into the kitchen. Alma was all but glaring at me from where she sat at the kitchen table while Solidad now just looked at me wearily. There was an awkward silence and I gulped as I realized that I hadn't planned this far ahead. Solidad broke the silence first.

"What is this about Falkner? Have you decided that you want some kind of custody of the baby?" She looked scared and almost guarded as if she was afraid that I was going to march in here with lawyers to snatch her baby away. Her response to me coming here took me back. Is that what she thought this was all about?

"No, I mean, I do want to be part of the baby's life but I also want to be part of your life too. I know I've acted like a jerk in the past but I'm trying to make things right. Solidad, will you take me back?"

Solidad's eyes were filled with tears and she quickly blinked them back before whispering, "How can I take you back when I can't trust you?"

"Only time can fix what's broken between us but Solidad, honest to Arceus, I don't want the reason of your unhappiness to be because of me. You deserve to have a happy life. Let me help you raise the baby. I was afraid of the idea of raising a kid at first and so I ran. Now I realize that that was wrong and I'll do anything to make it right. Please just tell me that you forgive me. This time without you has been so lonely, I missed you. Even if you never take me back at least say that I'm allowed back in your life." There was a silence as Solidad cried a little bit more. An unexpected voice broke the silence.

"Finally," Alma said, "It's about time. You're lucky you came back on your own free will instead of me sending my Machamp after you." She looked like she was joking but with Alma you could never be sure. My thoughts were interrupted by Solidad's voice.

"Thank you, even though things will be different between you and me it would be nice for little Avocado to have a father."

"Avocado?" I looked over questioningly at Alma who just shrugged. She knew better than to question a hormonal pregnant Solidad. I turned back to Solidad as she continued to speak.

"Yeah, I've been craving avocados like crazy and so I decided that it might be a good name for the baby. It would work for a boy or a girl." She was starting to calm down now after all of the drama of the evening.

"Avocado," I echoed. Man, I thought to myself, hormones really do make people crazy.

"Well," I finally said, "you still have plenty of time to figure out a name before the baby comes, right?" Solidad nodded to herself as if considering this as I mentally swiped the sweat from my forehead. Alma was practically smirking at me with a look that said, "welcome to my world." At that moment I knew better than to assume that things were all forgiven but at the same time I was grateful to be given a second chance and this time I wasn't going to screw it up.

* * *

><p><em>Whew. Finally finished that chapter. Who knew winter break could be so distracting? xD I hope you enjoyed the chappie. The next chapter will be up on either this Saturday or Sunday. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season. :)<em>

_~SummerRain_


	9. Opportunity Strikes: Briana POV

Chapter 9: Opportunity Strikes  
>Briana POV<p>

* * *

><p>I could hear the hush of the leaves as the wind blew them across the forest floor. Once in a while a strong gust of wind would cause an abundance of leaves to fall to the ground, showering the scenery in a bright autumn palette of reds, oranges, and yellows. In a couple of weeks or so all of the vivid colors would fade to a dead looking brown before being suffocated by the virgin white snow that the harsh winter would bring. I felt my anger resurface as I thought my recent loss in Violet City. I couldn't believe that I had once idolized that bitch. Of course that was before she had stolen away my precious Drew. I should have known that he was fallling for May when I saw them together for the first time all those years before. But it wasn't too late, it was never too late. This was just a setback. Drew and I were meant for each other and <em>nobody<em> was going to take him away from me. After getting kicked out of the Drew Hayden Fan Club and losing yet again to May it was time for a change. All I knew was that, one way or the other, Drew would be mine.

I could hear a branch snap up ahead and I could feel my senses start to sharpen as my hearing honed in on the disturbance. It could end up being a wild pokemon I reasoned but something inside me knew that it was more than that. Maybe, I told myself, that noise is a sign that I've found what I've been searching for. I crept into the shadows of the forest and kept going until I reached the edge of a camp. I had heard rumors of the forest around Violet City being taken over as Team Rocket territory and I was excited to find that the rumors were true. I treaded carefully as to get a better look into their camp. Almost immediately I spied two guards patrolling the edge of the camp stopping every once and a while to peer into the shadowy depths of the forest. I knew those idiots couldn't see me though as I hid in the tall vegetation that the forest so conveniently provided for me. When you devote your life to being a stalker you learn a thing or two about spying on people undetected. I heard a loud woman's voice from inside the camp that made me jump and for a split second I thought that I had been spotted. It ended up being a false alarm though as I listened in on the conversation being held.

"Yo Kevin, get off your lazy ass and help me take down this tent."

"Can't," the other voice replied back, "I'm too busy guarding this box thingy the boss is making us take to base. Why don't you make Sylvia do it?"

"You big dummy," yet another voice added to the mix, "Can't you see I'm busy patrolling the camp? Come on. You know that that box probably isn't very important anyways."

"Bullshit. I overheard the boss talking to the head of the entire Team Rocket Organization and they made it sound like this box is make or break for us all so show some respect for the person taking the time out of his busy schedule to guard it."

"Busy schedule my ass. The only thing you ever do is sleep. We're the ones who end up doing all of the work. As far as I'm concerned you're just dead weight."

"What are you trying to say?" Kevin practically growled at Sylvia. Sylvia didn't back down though as she stopped her patrol to turn around and glare at Kevin with her hands at her hips.

"I'm saying that the only reason why you got into Team Rocket in the first place was because the boss took pity on you after your father died working for the organization." I saw Kevin wince as though he had been slapped. His shock however quickly turned to anger.

"That's it! You've been ragging on me all week. If you want a fight, you got it!" Kevin reached for a pokeball hanging on his belt.

"Guys, are you sure that's a good idea?" The anxious voice belonged to the other Team Rocket member who was walking along the perimeter of the camp. He had stopped to watch the new developement that had broke out between his fellow Team Rocket members.

"Stay out of this Hunter," Kevin practically spat at him, "this is between me and Sylvia. Golbat, let's go!" The indigo bat pokemon seemed to float in the air, the veins in its violet wings giving Golbat a horror movie feel to it. I shivered as those sunken eyes fell on me before flitting away to rest on its master. I was suddenly very grateful for the fact that pokemon couldn't talk.

"Electrode, come on out!" Sylvia's Electrode seemed ominous as the oversized pokeball gave off small sparks that resembled something of a warning to the opponent who seemed unimpressed.

"Gust Golbat now!"

"Counter it with thunderbolt!" The electricity seemed to only add to the gust however as the now charged tornado slammed into Electrode, sending it flying until it hit a tree trunk.

Why am I even here? I wondered to myself. The whole point of me trying to track down Team Rocket members was so that I could get into their exclusive top secret training academy. Their training academy was legendary in creating criminals and what I needed right now was to pick up some skills so that I could carry out my revenge. but I doubted that these idiots would be helpful to me in that regard. I could see now that talking to grunts about getting into the academy would be useless. Well, I thought, if they can't help me maybe their boss will. I spied the box in the middle of camp just lying there unattended. That might come in handy I thought when it comes to leverage. The battle proved to be a sufficient enough distraction that I could dart out of my hiding place and into their camp. I took my chance, running towards the small package that supposedly was worth the risk of getting caught. On first glance the package looked insignificant but I didn't stop to question its real importance as my hand closed around it.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Everything was chaos then as Hunter, the other one on patrol, lunged for me. I narrowly dodged to the side and grabbed Tangela's pokeball on my belt. Sylvia and Kevin just looked up at me dumbstruck as their heated battle was interrupted by an intruder. Then Kevin shouted, "And you said the package wasn't important huh? Just look at this!" He was pointing at me frantically. Sylvia looked like she wanted to slap him. Precious seconds ticked by as the feeling of being trapped set in. I could think of only one way out of this.

"Tangela, use sleep powder." Some of the members of the camp tried to make a run for it to avoid unconsciousness but it was too late as the four Team Rocket grunts slumped to the ground in a deep sleep. I smirked due to the fact that I was quite pleased with myself for knocking out these losers who dared to call themselves members of Team Rocket. I quickly grasped the small package, which I had dropped on the ground in the midst of all the commotion and tucked it into my jacket pocket. After zipping up the pocket so that it wouldn't fall out I stood there among their pathetic bodies and said, "My, would you look at this mess. And I'm still no closer to getting into the Team Rocket Academy. Oh well, I don't need these losers. Well I don't need _all_ of them anyways." With the help of my pokemon I was able to shove their helpless bodies into the bushes so that they wouldn't be noticed right away. It would be hours before any of them woke up and by then I would have already accomplished what I had set out to do. I kept one of the grunts in their original spot, locked in a slumber. Time to wake up I thought viciously before ordering Tangela to wrap its vines around the sleeping victim so that she couldn't move. The "lucky" person was the woman who had asked Kevin to help her take down the tent. Out of all of them she had seemed to be the one who would be more cooperative. I slapped her face hard a couple of times until she woke up. When she regained consciousness she fought against Tangela's vines that held her captive to no avail as Tangela's grip was tight.

"Let me go you little bitch!" she screamed at me, her eyes wild with panic and rage when she noticed that her comrades were missing.

"Tangela, why don't you shut her up? She's giving me a headache." My pokemon obediently blocked her screams with a vine that covered her mouth. I then got close to the woman's face.

"Now you listen to me. I want you to take me to your superior and if you don't..." I trailed off to let her imagination run away with her. It worked as I saw her eyes widen.

"Let's just say some very bad things will happen to you," I finished, "Are we at an understanding?" She nodded vigorously and I grinned.

"Good. Why don't you lead the way?"

Our progress through the woods was productive as Tangela walked behind our prisoner, his vines had wrenched her arms behind her back and held her hands together as efficient as handcuffs. I had duct taped her mouth shut so that she couldn't scream. Duct tape was a common staple in any regular stalking kit. We had been walking for a couple of hours when I saw the cabin in the distance. It looked like it had been abandoned since it was obviously very rundown. It was then when I asked her if that was their base to which she nodded, confirming my suspicions. I then worked very fast as I ordered Tangela to use sleep powder again, knocking the woman out for a second time.

I realized that I would look to conspicuous among all of the other darkly clothed members and so I swapped outfits with the woman. The outfit consisted of black mini skirt and a black shirt with sleeves that came up just above my elbows with a red R emblazoned on the front for the Team Rocket logo. I quickly slid on the boots and gloves and marveled about how it had all worked out. She wore a size bigger than me but it still fit considerably well and at least my outfit would give me the upper hand as far as blending in with the other grunts so that I could get inside. I pulled the small package out of my jacket pocket and tucked it into the pocket in my grunt uniform. I mused about how fast things could change in the course of a day. I called Tangela back into his pokeball so that he could have a nice long rest. He had done a good job today. Next I released Vibrava from his pokeball and told him to follow me but to stay out of sight. After all, I had no idea what I was just about to get myself into.

* * *

><p>The cabin was empty. Just freaking fantastic I thought, she lured me here to the wrong place. She's going to pay for this, I thought furiously. I fumed about this for a few minutes until I noticed something. The entire cabin was empy of furniture and yet there was a rug in the corner of the room. I held my breath as I lifted the corner of the rug and sure enough there was a trap door leading into the underground. I practically ripped the door open and squinted into the darkness trying to see something but everything was pitch black. I saw that there was a rope ladder going down so I cautiously grasped the rope and descended into the unknown. Vibrava I hope you're still following me, I thought to myself. I could feel nothing but impending doom.<p>

After what seemed like forever I reached the bottom of the ladder and I sighed with relief once my feet touched solid ground again. My relief, however, didn't last long when I heard a voice behind me.

"So, you're the one who decided to knock out my team." I gasped aloud.

"How did you know that?" I was consumed with morbid curiousity. I turned around and was met by a tall middle aged man with jet black hair that was starting to show some gray streaks. He just stared at me before answering my question.

"I tried to contact my team via Pokenav and when they didn't pick up I figured that something must have gone wrong. I sent out some agents and sure enough they found them lying unconscious, having been attacked by a powerful sleeping powder. My agents have been tracking you the whole time. They wanted to bring you in immediately for questioning but I told them to follow you instead when I found out that it was this location that you were seeking to visit. I was curious as to how far you'd make it." He paused again, suddenly looking bored. "However, you did knock out one of my teams and so the time for fun and games is over. We simply cannot allow people to meddle in Team Rocket's affairs...Jasper?" He motioned to someone lurking in the shadows and I noticed that the Jasper's eyes were glittering with the promise of violence.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me," the middle aged man continued but I was speechless.

The dark haired man sighed impatiently and Jasper grabbed me roughly.

"Why do you insist on being so stubborn? We don't harm those who cooperate. You'll find however soon enough that we have ways of making people talk." Jasper then began to drag me off down the dimly lit hallway until I screamed, "Wait! I have what you want." Jasper looked up to the man who seemed to be making all of the shots and he nodded. In response Jasper shoved me towards the man who had first addressed me since coming here. I reached into my pocket and saw a smug grin spread across his face which pissed me off. I saw a flash of green in the decrepit wooden rafters of the underground room we were in and I had to force my face to remain impassive.

"Well here it is," I held it up for him to see, "GO AND GET IT!" I threw it towards Vibrava who caught it with lightning speed. Both Jasper and the other man tried to grab me but I quickly darted away.

"Not so fast," I yelled victoriously, "The minute you try to harm me is the very second that Vibrava will destroy your precious package. Vibrava shot out a warning fireball as to emphasize this point and for the first time the middle aged man looked weary.

"What do you want in return for the package?"

"It's funny you should ask," I said smugly.

* * *

><p><em>It was kind of fun writing from a dark point of view. *throws back head for evil laugh* MWAHAHAHAHAHA! jk guys... or am I? Anyways, the next chapter will focus on May again! Thanks for reading! Till next time...<em>

_~SummerRain_


	10. I'd Lie: May POV

_A/N: The song that will show up in this chapter is called I'd Lie by Taylor Swift, which by the way is totally May and Drew's song. A gold star goes out to xXMoonflightXx and anyone else who figured out what I was up to ahead of time as far as this song goes. ;D  
><em>

_Disclaimer: I do not own the song I'd Lie by Taylor Swift, I just enjoy her music._

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: <span>I'd Lie<span>  
>May POV<p>

I sat next to Grace in a small restaurant in Goldenrod City waiting for the food that we had ordered a few minutes ago. It had been awhile since we both had time to sit down and really relax. We had been on the road for almost two weeks and in that time I had won two more ribbons.

"So," Grace said teasingly, "Are you looking forward to seeing your boyfriend in another week?"

"He's not my boyfriend," I said defensively, "Just because we spent an afternoon together doesn't make him my boyfriend. I just like him is all." I could feel my face already starting to blush, damn my pale skin.

"Not true," she said in a sing- song voice, "you llloooooove him, don't you?"

"Do not," I said childishly.

"Do too."

"Do not." The waitress came up and gave us our food when I heard Grace whisper, "Do too."

"Do not," I whispered back. The waitress gave us a strange look before heading towards the next table.

I dived into my plate of food and Grace smirked to herself.

"Fine," she said while throwing her hands into the air as an act of giving up, "Enjoy your denial while you can." She then started to eat as well and silence fell upon us.

"Maybe I do love him," I said softly before seeing a triumphant look cross Grace's face when she heard me admit the truth, "But if you so much as utter a word of this to Drew I'll deny the whole thing. If Drew knew that I loved him he would just get all arrogant on me." Grace nodded in agreement. A few seconds later an amplified voice filled the restaurant and I scanned the room until my eyes fell upon the speaker who was a young woman in her twenties.

"Hello everybody! I hope you're enjoying your meals because now's the time for us to start Karaoke Night! If you want to sing just sign your name on this piece of paper." She held the lined sheet of paper up for us to see before setting it down on the table next to her. A microphone was set up a few feet from the table and when the woman finished her speech and walked away I saw a couple of people stand up to make their way over to the table to put their names down, Grace stood up too.

"Are you going to sing?" I asked curiously.

"Who ever said anything about me singing? I was going to sign _you_ up." I gasped in horror and grabbed her arm, causing her to laugh.

"Relax," she said, "I was just messing with you. I got to go use the bathroom. Be right back."

"Okay," I murmured, not quite believing her but at the same time not wanting to look paranoid.

Grace returned a few minutes later, just in time for Karaoke Night to start. We watched the first few singers that ranged from those adept at singing to those who literally needed to have rotten tomatoes hurled at them. When one particularly bad singer finished her performance I breathed a sigh of relief until I heard the next name being called.

"Next up is May Maple! Will May please come up to the microphone?"

"You...didn't," I accused Grace whose eyes sparkled with mischief.

"What's the big deal? I've seen you do contests in front of crowds much larger than this one. Come on, I wouldn't have signed you up if I thought you couldn't do it." I let out a sigh and more or less dragged myself over to the microphone. Someone was going to wake up with a Sharpie drawn mustache the following morning.

The woman at the table motioned me over and asked me what song I wanted to sing, to which I answered with one of my favorite songs. I walked over to the microphone and waited for the music to start. The first sound was from a guitar before other string instruments quickly joined into the melody that was all coming out of a stereo that was close by. I closed my eyes to block out the strangers' stares before parting my lips to sing the first few lyrics.

_I don't think that passenger seat_  
><em>Has ever looked this good to me<em>

I opened my eyes and glanced over at Grace who flashed me a thumbs up as encouragement.

_He tells me about his night_  
><em>And I count the colors in his eyes<em>  
><em>He'll never fall in love he swears<em>  
><em>As he runs his fingers through his hair<em>  
><em>I'm laughing cause I hope he's wrong<em>

I curled my hands around the microphone. I was actually starting to enjoy myself. Not that I would ever tell Grace that.  
><em><br>I don't think it ever crossed his mind_  
><em>He tells a joke I fake a smile<em>  
><em>That I know all his favorite songs<em>

As the chorus began I remembered how Drew's bright green eyes would seem to shine every time he smiled at me.

_And I could tell you his favorite color's green_  
><em>He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth<em>  
><em>His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes<em>  
><em>And if you asked me if I love him,<em>

I paused for a split second with the music before continuing.  
><em><br>I'd lie_

_He looks around the room_  
><em>Innocently overlooks the truth<em>  
><em>Shouldn't a light go on?<em>  
><em>Doesn't he know that I've had him memorized for so long?<em>

The memories of Drew and I over the years since the age of ten flashed back in my head as I took the microphone off of its stand.

_He sees everything black and white_  
><em>Never let nobody see him cry<em>  
><em>I don't let nobody see me wishing he was mine<em>

_I could tell you his favorite color's green_  
><em>He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth<em>  
><em>His sister's beautiful, he has his father's eyes<em>  
><em>And if you asked me if I love him,<em>  
><em>I'd lie<em>

As the instrumental interlude played I wondered where Drew was at this moment. His sister's wedding was probably over by now so he could already be back in Johto. I felt my heart race as I thought about being able to see his face again in another week.

_He stands there then walks away_  
><em>My god if I could only say<em>  
><em>I'm holding every breath for you...<em>

I placed my hand over my heart for emphasis as the other instruments faded away to leave a lone guitar playing_.  
><em>

_He'd never tell you but he can play guitar_  
><em>I think he can see through everything<em>  
><em>But my heart<em>  
><em>First thought when I wake up is<em>  
><em>My god he's beautiful<em>  
><em>So I put on my make up<em>  
><em>And pray for a miracle<em>

The chorus rolled back around for the last time.

_Yes I could tell you his favorite color's green_  
><em>He loves to argue oh and it kills me<em>

I shook my head and fought back a smile as I thought back on all of the arguments we had had starting from the moment that we first met on that fateful beach in Slateport City.  
><em><br>His sister's beautiful he has his father's eyes_  
><em>And if you asked me if I love him<em>

I repeated the line again, my voice raw with emotion as I really thought about what Drew meant to me.  
><em><br>If you asked me if I love him_

I paused, changing my mind at the last minute to change the ending lyric.  
><em><br>Why lie?_

As the song ended I hung the microphone back on its stand while listening to the restaurant full of people applaud.

I noticed a certain navy haired girl beaming ear from ear, clapping enthusiastically as well. I waved at the crowd before returning back to my table to sit next to Grace.

* * *

><p>Grace and I spent a couple more minutes listening to various people sing before we paid for our food and took off. It was around nine o'clock at night and it was already pitch black out, the street lamps providing the only light for us to see by as we walked towards the pokemon center where we would be staying for the night. I shivered as I pulled my coat closer around me. The temperature had dropped a couple of degrees since we had last been outside and I was looking forward to being back inside a warm building.<p>

Since the Pokemon Center was, fortunately, only a couple of blocks away as we set foot in the lobby in no time at all. With the automatic doors shutting behind us we walked up the stairs to our room, unlocked the door, and more or less collapsed onto our bunkbeds with exhaustion practically settling into our bones. I felt another pang of homesickness again as I thought about when I used to travel with Ash, Brock, and Max.

"I think I'm going to make a phone call," I said to Grace before reaching in my pocket for my pokedex.

"Good," she said good humorly, "Now maybe I'll be able to get some hot water before you use it all." She chuckled to herself before heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

I took my pokedex out of my pocket and dialed Ash's number. It rung a couple of times before the dark haired boy's voice answered on the other end in Sinnoh.

"Go for Ketchum."

"Hey Ash, it's May."

"HEY MAY! HOW ARE YOU?" His enthusiastic voice boomed loudly to the point where I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

"Fine, thanks but do mind not yelling into my ear?"

"Oh sorry," he said while returning his voice to a more tolerable decibel, "So how's everything going in Johto? Won any ribbons yet?"

"Yeah, I just need two more to enter in the Grand Festival."

"Really? That's great! HEY BROCK! GUESS WHAT!" I cringed as I ripped the phone away from my ear.

"What?" I heard Brock's voice in the background. This time when Ash answered he had enough common sense to take the phone away from his yelling mouth. Unfortunately he was so loud that I still heard him loud and clear.

"MAY'S GETTING CLOSE TO ENTERING THE GRAND FESTIVAL! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!"

I could hear Brock mutter something about cutting off Ash's sugar supply before saying to Ash that he wanted to talk to me. Ash must have handed over the phone because all of a sudden I could hear Brock's deep voice.

"Hey, how have you been doing? Have you been eating all right?" I rolled my eyes. Leave it up to Brock to be concerned about my eating habits.

"Yeah, I'm eating all right. How are you guys doing in Sinnoh?"

"Just fine except Dawn is a little out of sorts today."

"Is Dawn the girl who you're traveling with?"

"Yeah, she's very girly. She makes you look like a picnic."

"HEY! I wasn't that bad, was I?" I could practically hear crickets chirping on the other end.

"Well," he said as if thinking about it.

"BROCK!"

"Just kidding," his laughter rang in my ear.

"So where is Dawn now?" I asked curiously.

"Oh Dawn's in her tent and she's refusing to come out because she swears that her hair is unfit to be seen by humanity."

"Isn't that a little dramatic?"

"Not if you've ever seen Dawn's hair get frizzy before. I swear, one time when Pikachu jumped onto Dawn's head we nearly lost him. We thought he had been a goner. Ash was even crying about it. When we finally found Pikachu he was curled up in the fetal position and wouldn't go near Dawn for days."

"Oh my gosh, you're such a liar," came a voice from the background which had to have belonged to Dawn.

I could practically hear the smile in his voice when he admitted, "Yeah, I was lying but not by much I'll tell you that." I laughed out loud at this statement.

"So, any special Nurse Joys or Officer Jennys in your life?" I asked slyly.

"None at all actually, but that'll all change once I put my plan into action."

"Plan? How could the great Brock need a plan?"

"I know right? I guess I just haven't found that special someone yet. Anyways, you don't need to hear me ramble on about that. It's getting late and I'm sure you have things you still have to do, so bye for now."

"Bye."

"BYE MAY!" came Ash's voice from the background before Brock hung up.

* * *

><p>AN: This was kind of a filler chapter but I assure you that the plot will pick up soon, especially in the next chapter so stay tuned. :P

~SummerRain


	11. Past and Future: Drew POV

Chapter 11: Past and Future  
>Drew POV<p>

My sister walked arm in arm with her new husband as they took their first steps as husband and wife down the aisle. Sophie was radiant in an ivory floor length gown with delicate cap sleeves and little white flowers strewn in her blonde hair for the special occasion. The dark haired man at her side was beaming from ear to ear as he looked at his beloved bride. I hoped that Nick and Sophie would be happy in their new life together. Cries from well wishers could be heard as the young couple exited the church. I trailed behind my parents as we made our way over to the parking lot and got into the car for the short drive over to the reception.

My father was driving as my mother was too emotional to pay any attention to the road. She held onto her lace handkerchief as if she were a drowning woman clinging to a life preserver as tears slid down her cheeks.

"I can't believe my little girl's all grown up." She dabbed the tears from her eyes and stared out the passenger window as my father reached over and held her hand.

"We shouldn't have blinked," my father said jokingly as he gave a smile to my mother before returning his gaze to the road. As I looked out the car window I was assailed by an old childhood memory that flitted to the front of my mind.

* * *

><p><strong><em>10 Years Earlier...<em>**

_I burst out of the yellow school bus once it stopped at the end of my driveway, clutching my spheal backpack in one hand as I raced towards the house. My teenage sister was sitting on the front steps with a guy I had never seen before. My sister greeted me as I approached them suspiciously. I never liked any of the guys Sophie hung out with. I liked it better when she only played with me. _

_"Hi Drew, this is Nick." She gestured at the guy next to her who smiled at me._

_"Hey buddy. What's up?"_

_"The sky stupid." I hefted my backpack over my shoulder, avoiding the death glare that my sister was shooting me to head into the kitchen. I dropped my backpack onto the floor and followed the scent of freshly baked cookies to where my mother was taking out a fresh batch from the oven. I walked over to the mixing bowl and swiped a fingerful of cookie dough before my mother could reprimand me. I had just gotten it into my mouth before she noticed what I had just done._

_"Drew! Don't eat raw cookie dough, you'll get salmonella."_

_"But mommy it tastes good and I promise you that I won't get sammy-nilla." My little boy's lisp was enough to undo my mother's disapproval of my manners as she swooped down to give me swift kiss on the forehead while giving me a cookie, which I quickly gobbled down._

_"I know it tastes good, but it tastes even better once it's actually cooked. Here, why don't you take some to your sister and her boyfriend out on the porch?"_

_I took the plate she gave me in great confusion._

_"Mommy, what's a boyfriend?" My mother smiled to herself as she tried to figure out what to tell me._

_"Well sweetie, when you really care about someone you become boyfriend and girlfriend and go out on dates and stuff. You'll know more when you get a little older but for now you don't have to worry about that kind of stuff. Okay?"_

_"'Kay." I was still pretty confused by the time I reached my sister and her "boyfriend" and was shocked by what I saw. My sister was locking lips with that Nick guy and it wasn't long before I sounded the alarm with the volume that my 6 year old lungs had to offer._

_"Eww! They're kissing! They're kissing." I screamed in revoltion. I was NEVER going to let a yucky girl ever kiss me. My sister broke off the kiss with Nick to give me an irritated glance._

_"Just you wait Drew. In a few years when you've grown up some, you won't think it's so gross anymore."_

_"YUCK! THAT'LL NEVER HAPPEN!" Sophie just smiled at me in that all knowing look of hers before responding._

_"I wouldn't be too sure about that Drew. A few years from now you'll find somebody special who you will actually _want_ to kiss."_

_"NOOOOOOOO! I don't want girl cooties!" I ran away screaming with Sophie and her boyfriend grinning at my childish reaction to the opposite sex, knowing fully that I wouldn't hold onto the "girls are yucky" belief forever._

* * *

><p>The car ride passed quickly as we pulled into the crowded parking lot, parking in a vacant spot before heading into the building.<p>

Once inside, we were overwhelmed by the sheer amount of relatives that were talking over each other as they tried to catch up on family news. My mother steered us through the crowd and lead us to a table with the rest of the immediate family and a few minutes later the din of the room was silenced as the groom made the first speech of the night.

"I want to thank all of our friends and family for coming to our wedding. As some of you may already know, Sophie and I had dated briefly in high school and then later reconnected in college. I still remember that first week of college as a freshman and not knowing a single soul. But when I saw her moving her stuff in the dorm just down the hall from mine I knew that some other greater plan was at work. There, among all those strangers, was one familiar face. We grew close again as we talked about home and other things that we had in common and along the way we fell in love. It wasn't the kind of love that we had in high school that was like a shooting star that burned out too fast. It is, instead, the kind of love that endures the test of time and makes you want to hold that person close and never let them go. Sophie, I love you and from this moment on I will do everything in my power to protect you, support you, and make you feel loved. So if everyone here can raise their glass I would like to dedicate this toast to Sophie, my best friend, my soul mate, and now my wife. To Sophie..."

Glasses were raised into the air with the name of the bride resounding across the room. Drinks were then lowered for their owners to take a sip or, in some cases, down the whole alcoholic beverage before the bride and groom kissed for the second time that evening. People then began to disperse from their tables as music began to drift across the room and couples formed on the dance floor. After a couple of songs I sang the song "Everything" by Michael Buble for Sophie and Nick who beamed at each other while dancing as if the only sight they wished to see was the other's face. My sister's face was radiant with happiness while her dark haired husband looked equally mirthful.

As I sang the lyrics to the song, while playing the guitar, the memory of May and I on that beautiful afternoon spent in Violet City after the contest came into my thoughts.

* * *

><p><em>After our kiss I took her by the hand and lead her into the courtyard in the shade of a large leafy tree that looked like it had been dipped in the fiery colored paint of autumn before sinking down into the soft grass. Her gaze looked thoughtful as she looked at me with those sapphire eyes. I felt like she could see my soul as I got lost in their azure depths. She then broke her gaze to look down at our linked hands.<em>

_"If the roses had always been meant for me, does that mean that you liked me even back then?"_

_"No," I said softly, "You snuck up on me. At first the roses were just an excuse for me to talk to you. When I first saw you practicing your contest routine with your Beautifly you reminded me so much of me when I first started out in contests. To tell you the truth I was almost impressed. Your act was good for a newbie."_

_"Thanks," she said before adding, "Hold up... what do you mean by 'almost'?"_

_"Well, you do have to admit it was cheesy."_

_"Cheesy! I worked hard on that routine...wait a minute, are we arguing about something that happened years ago?"_

_I chuckled softly before saying, "Some things never change."_

_"I hope we never change," May whispered before leaning against my chest as I rested against the tree trunk._

_"Me neither."_

* * *

><p>I sung the last chorus to the song strumming the last few notes.<p>

__And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times_  
><em>It's you, it's you, You make me sing.<em>  
><em>You're every line, you're every word, you're everything.<em>  
><em>You're every song, and I sing along.<em>  
><strong><em>'<em>**_Cause you're my everything.  
>Yeah, Yeah <em>_

_So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la_  
><em>So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la<em>

I headed off the stage after the song to find my parents who were catching up on current news from the rest of the family and as I talked with my family the hours seemed to fly by until before I knew it it was time to leave. Nick and Sophie said a few goodbyes before taking off. Sophie clutched me in a death grip hug that nearly squeezed all of the viable air from my lungs, the tears sliding down her cheeks.

"My baby brother, I hope that one day you'll find someone who will make you as happy as Nick makes me. I love you."

"I love you too. I know you'll be happy being married to Nick so I wish you guys the best of luck."

"Thank you," she whispered before letting me go. I hugged Nick too before saying, "Take good care of my sister." to which he responded wholeheartedly that he would.

More tearful goodbyes ensued before the newly wedded couple left for their honeymoon and my parents and I set out to leave soon after.

* * *

><p><strong>A Couple of Days Later After the Wedding...<strong>

As I walked along the streets of Ecruteak City back in the region of Johto I was filled with anxiety about whether or not May would show up. I knew that she had agreed to meet me here in one month's time but I kept worrying that something might have happened to her. Enough of this, I thought to myself, when I see her I'll tell her that she and I should travel together. May had become very important to me and I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to her.

My heart almost flew into my throat when I spotted her walking down the street.

"May!" I called out while running to her. Nothing would keep us apart now. She turned towards me and smiled as I approached.

"Hey," I said breathlessly, partly from running and partly from seeing her again.

"Hey yourself," she said cheerfully before getting on her tippy-toes to give me a light kiss on the lips. We both smiled when we broke apart and she held out her hand for me to take in mine as we walked down the street as a couple.

"I missed you," she said before turning the full force of her beautiful eyes on me, "I've been traveling with Grace, which has stopped me from being lonely, but it didn't stop me from missing you."

"I missed you too. More than you could ever know." We walked in silence for a couple of minutes until we ran into a familiar face.

"Hey May, I'm glad to see that you guys have met up again." Grace grinned at us while holding on to a couple of shopping bags filled with clothes. "I just knew from the moment I saw you guys together that you would be perfect for each other, and it looks like I was right, which brings me to why I'm holding these shopping bags. Are you guys aware of the festival that's held in Ecruteak city around this time of year?"

"Festival?" May and I both inquired in unison but the navy haired girl only smiled at us.

"Come now. Surely you must know about the festival in Ecruteak that's held only once a year in honor of the legendary pokemon that used to inhabit the burned tower?" Our blank looks must have said it all for Grace then took that chance to jump in and explain the whole Ecruteak celebration as her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper.

"A long time ago the legendary pokemon Celebi used to live in the Ilex Forest and even though she had a shrine in the forest where devoted humans paid their respects to her, the green fairy pokemon was lonely. Celebi began to neglect her duties to the forest as its guardian as she sunk into a deep depression. The other pokemon noticed the change in Celebi as the once lively forest started to decay. Plants died off as they wilted and turned a dead looking brown and the mighty river that used to run through the forest dried up. Celebi wished, more than anything, that she would have children. She wished this with all her heart, unaware to the falling star that was shooting across the evening sky. The legendary pokemon Jirachi, who had the power to grant wishes, heard Celebi's pleads to the night sky and granted her wish and the next day Celebi woke up to see two pokemon eggs lying beside her. She had no idea where they had come from but from that day forward she raised them as her own, naming them Lugia and Ho-Oh.

She taught them everything she knew, including the wise advice to never trust humans due to their hunger for power. When both children reached adulthood Ho-Oh; however, neglected to follow his mother's advice as he flew to Ecruteak City where the humans there built him a tower in his honor. Eventually the human's worship turned to betrayal when a group of radicals tried to steal Ho-Oh's mystical power that was believed to be contained in his fiery feathers. In a fit of rage Ho-Oh burned the tower down to the ground. Today, all that remains of the once majestic tower is the bare foundation burned charcoal black from the mystical flames and the centuries old ashes that still seem to scatter across the city whenever a gust of wind blows across Johto. Ecruteak holds the festival every year as a way to pass down our heritage to the next generation and also so that we never forget the kind of devastation that can come from betraying those who are close to us."

It was silent for a couple of minutes until May said, "Wow, I had no idea that Ecruteak had so much history behind it. How do you know so much about it?"

"Oh, I used to live here before my parents split up. I have to admit it's been kind of cool coming back to my hometown after all of these years."

We talked for a couple more minutes before Grace took May by the hand and dragged her off, saying that they needed to try on different outfits for the festival tomorrow. May gave me the kind of wave that a captive might give before hurrying down the street to match Grace's fast pace.

* * *

><p>Later on I walked into the Pokemon Center to find a couple of pokemon trainers gathered around the television. I was about to hand my pokeballs over to Nurse Joy when the t.v screen caught my attention.<p>

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program with breaking news from the pokemon laboratory in New Bark Town." A wiry middle aged man with glasses stood in front of the camera next to the interviewer, his expression anxious as he adjusted his glasses.

"So, Professor Birch, what can you tell us about the most recent wild pokemon attack made on one Marina Bridges who was last seen walking along Route 30?"

"After the pokemon rangers in that area hunted down the Beedrill that had attacked Ms. Bridges, they brought it to my laboratory due to its erratic behavior. You see, most wild pokemon will keep to themselves if no one bothers them but in the past year the number of wild pokemon attacks had gone up exponentially. Further tests on the wild pokemon revealed high levels of adrenaline in its system which explains its violent behavior and its rapid growth in strength. After some scientific discussion with my colleagues we've decided to call this worrying, increasingly frequent phenomena as the Pokerus virus."

"How will this affect the traveling of pokemon trainers Professor Birch? And what kind of advice do you give to those who travel on a regular basis?"

"I would advise anyone to stay away from grassy areas where pokemon like to roam and stick to the path until we find out how to control the situation."

"How did this virus come to affect wild pokemon?"

"A little adrenaline is common now and then but the levels that we have been seeing are unnatural and seem to have come from man-made origins."

"Any idea who could be behind it?"

"That's for the police to find out but I certainly hope that they catch whoever it is soon."

"Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us Professor Elm," the Professor nodded before the interviewer continued his report. "We have heard that Marina Bridges is still in critical condition from the injuries she sustained during the attack. If anyone has any information concerning the Pokerus virus or these wild pokemon attacks, please call the number flashing on the bottom of your screen now." After a couple of seconds the t.v. returned to its regular broadcasting as trainers from around the room began to discuss the breaking news story.

"I bet it's Team Rocket," someone said to the person sitting next to them on the couch.

"You're probably right, they always seem to be behind everything," the other person answered back. As I turned to face Nurse Joy again her face looked pinched with worry. When she noticed that I was waiting to heal my pokemon she quickly shook the expression from her face, replacing it with a forced smile, as she tried to remain professional in the face of a potential disaster.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN:_**_ I know it has been a long time since I've updated this story but I've been really busy with my school work as well as practicing for the ACT that's coming up in nine days. :O On a happier note this story is starting to come to an end as there are only four more chapters to go so I'm starting the countdown: 4 more chapters to go!_

_~SummerRain_


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